Norwich — One of the region’s few pain management doctors has surrendered his federal and state permits to prescribe narcotics and is the subject of an investigation by the state Department of Consumer Protection.

Lora Rae Anderson, spokeswoman for the consumer protection department, said Thursday that Dr. John Paggioli, who practices at the Eastern Connecticut Pain Treatment Center on West Town Street in Norwich, surrendered his controlled substance registration permit to the department on Dec. 15. She declined to comment further, citing an ongoing investigation.

Paggioli also has surrendered his permit to prescribe opioids and other narcotics to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, according to Christopher Stan, spokesman for the state Department of Public Health. He said DEA and state consumer protection officials do not close physicians' offices, but "can rescind or request surrender of credentials."

Both the DEA and the Department of Consumer Protection informed the health department of the surrenders, Stan said. Officials at the DEA offices in Hartford and Boston did not return several messages requesting comment.

On Dec. 19, Paggioli sent a letter to his patients advising them that for at least the next six months, he “will not be able to prescribe any controlled substances including narcotic pain medications.” He advised patients to find another physician if they need these medications.

“If your primary care physician cannot assist you,” he said, “please contact me immediately and I will try to help you find a practitioner who will prescribe these medications. In order to avoid withdrawal, you can also seek treatment in a hospital emergency department.”

Messages left at Paggioli’s office phone and at his home were not returned. The voice message on his office phone said the practice is closed for vacation until Tuesday. Signs on the front door list office closure days for 2016, including Dec. 26 through Sunday, and state that the practice no longer operates satellite offices in Waterford and Putman.

In his letter, Paggioli said he will continue to practice pain management using treatments that do not involve the use of controlled substances, and that he anticipates being able to prescribe controlled substances again in July or August.

One of the patients who received the letter was Elizabeth De Wolf of Waterford, who said she takes prescription narcotics for a chronic illness. She said she is concerned about the sudden loss of a pain medication specialist in the region.

“There’s a big void in this area for people who legitimately need this,” she said. “It’s a bad situation, a sad situation for those of us who’ve done everything right.”

De Wolf said she understands that the opioid addiction crisis has created the need for much stricter controls on prescription opioids, but added that patients with chronic pain should not be punished as a result.

Paggioli has an active medical license with the state health department and remains on the medical staff at The William W. Backus Hospital, according to Backus spokesman Steve Coates.

“We don’t comment on specific cases of private physicians, but in order for a physician to maintain membership on the hospital’s medical staff they are required to disclose any investigation or license restriction that has been imposed on them when reapplying for membership, which is done in two-year cycles,” Coates said in an email message.

He added that Backus is “very much aware” that there is a shortage of pain medicine providers in this region. This hospital’s website lists three pain medicine specialists: Dr. Edward Hargus, Dr. Paul Pudimat, and Paggioli.

“We are actively recruiting physicians trained in that specialty to meet the demand,” Coates said.

In the New London area, Dr. Sudhir Kadian said he and Dr. Honghui Feng are the only pain specialists in the Lawrence + Memorial Hospital network. Kadian is the medical director of Shoreline Interventional Pain Center and president of Anesthesia Associates of New London. Since Paggioli's letter, Kadian said, there has been high demand for his services.

"I have received multiple calls from patients of Dr. Paggioli's and from primary care doctors," Kadian said. "I was able to see some of them, but not all of them." He added that Paggioli's patients can also go to their primary care doctors for opioid prescriptions.

He added that he was surprised that Paggioli surrendered his controlled substance permit, because he is known as a doctor who "goes by the book."

"If drug enforcement is going to scrutinize every small mistake a prescriber makes, that can put doctors in a very difficult position," he said.

Paggioli has been under scrutiny by regulatory agencies for at least the last year. In December 2015, he reached an agreement with the consumer protection department placing him on probation for four years. If any violations of regulations regarding narcotics or medical practice occurred during that time, his controlled substance permit would be suspended, according to the agreement.

Also under the agreement, Paggioli also paid a $20,000 fine. The agreement documents do not describe the circumstances that prompted the department to place Paggioli on probation.

In March of this year, the Connecticut Medical Examining Board, a division of the state health department, issued a consent order fining Paggioli $4,000 and issuing a reprimand against his medical license. A reprimand is a formal notification that a violation has occurred, but does not revoke a doctor’s license, according to Stan, the state public health spokesman.

“It does appear on his record,” he said.

The medical board's actions are the result of findings that Paggioli “pre-signed prescription blanks” for controlled substances and “failed to maintain the security of the pre-signed blanks, and/or failed to maintain the security of his prescription pads,” according to the order.

Paggioli did not contest the findings.

j.benson@theday.com