Prescription for Pain: Philip Eil’s true-crime investigation comes to Southern Ohio

Journalist and author Philip Eil will visit Ohio University Southern in October for a discussion of his recent true-crime book about opiates and Southern Ohio. The event, which will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 15, is part of Eil’s first visit to the region since the acclaimed book’s release in April.

Eil’s book, Prescription for Pain: How a Once-Promising Doctor Became the “Pill Mill Killer,” tells the story of Dr. Paul Volkman, a notorious doctor who was charged with drug-dealing for his activities at pain clinics in Portsmouth and Chillicothe in the mid-2000. Prosecutors linked him to the overdose deaths of 13 patients, though investigators explored his ties to at least 20 other deaths in the tri-state region. After his conviction in 2011, Volkman was sentenced to four consecutive life terms in prison, the opioid epidemic’s longest term for illegal prescriptions.

Eil, a Rhode Island-based journalist who has written for the Boston Globe and Huffington Post, first became interested in the story in 2009 after learning Volkman had gone to college and medical school with his father. His research for the book included years of correspondence with Volkman, interviews with more than 150 people, and 10 reporting trips to Southern Ohio between 2010 and 2022. 

"Philip Eil's work sheds light on a tragedy that continues to devastate our region and beyond. His investigation into Volkman's actions offers crucial lessons for our students, who will one day work to prevent similar crises," said Dr. Joy Shytle, associate professor of instruction in social work at Ohio University Southern. "Eil’s visit to campus and to my classes provides an invaluable opportunity for students and community members alike to engage with the realities of the opioid epidemic."

Eil says that he fell in love with Southern Ohio while working on this project.

“After so many years working on this book, I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to discuss it with folks at OU Southern, in the heart of the region affected by the crimes I describe,” he said. 

Volkman received an M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. But by the time he arrived to work at cash-only pain clinics in Portsmouth in 2003, he had lost his malpractice insurance after a series of lawsuits. Volkman proceeded to prescribe enormous amounts of opiate painkillers, muscle relaxers, and sedatives in a region already struggling with overdoses and addiction. In some instances, family members of Volkman’s patients begged the doctor to stop prescribing to their loved ones. Eil’s book recounts these crimes in detail, and also describes Volkman’s eight-week trial in federal court in Cincinnati. 

In a review, the Columbus Dispatch called Prescription for Pain a “riveting true-crime page-turner” and said it “masterfully chronicles Volkman’s life and the sad tales of those who succumbed to the physician's scribbles on his prescription pad.” In a separate review, BookPage wrote, “With Prescription for Pain, Eil joins the ranks of investigative journalists like Sam Quinones (Dreamland), Patrick Radden Keefe (Empire of Pain) and Beth Macy (Dopesick), adding a crucial piece of the puzzle to understanding an epidemic that continues to arrest the nation.” A chapter from the book describing Portsmouth’s recovery efforts after the scourge of pill mills was published in the July issue of Cincinnati magazine. 

Eil’s event will take place at 5:30 p.m. in the Riffe Rotunda and is free and open to the public.