FARGO (AP) - About 20 patients of a doctor accused of improperly handling narcotics joined him at a news conference to show their support.

The state Board of Medical Examiners suspended Dr. Rodney Lee's medical license last week for sloppy handling of narcotics, letting assistants fill out drug prescription forms for patients, and accepting unused drugs from his patients and keeping them in an unlocked drawer.

Lee runs Rapidcare Clinics in Fargo and Grand Forks, and in Moorhead and Detroit Lakes in Minnesota. He said he has about 600 patients dealing with pain and other doctors are afraid to prescribe narcotics for them because they fear discipline.

"It's my ethical duty to see them and do something for them," Lee said at a news conference on Tuesday. "They have a right to pain management."

Chastity Woodbury, 32, of Fargo, said she was hit by a train when she was 5 years old and has been in several accidents, leaving her in chronic pain and depression. She said she needs medication to function.

"No other doctor understands us," Woodbury said. "Everyone looks at us as pain medication seekers, but Dr. Lee cares about us."

Lee told investigators his medical practice is overextended.

He acknowledged that he was sloppy with paperwork, and that returned drugs were stored in an unlocked cabinet at one of the clinics. But he said those are compliance or educational issues.

"Yes, the paperwork in his office is stacked on the floor, but I don't go there for that," said R.D. "Dick" Knutson. "I go there for help."

The medical board has scheduled an Aug. 13 hearing on Lee's suspension.

Maggie Anderson, medical services director for the state Department of Human Services, said the agency was notified by a federal group about irregularities in RapidCare's billing for Medicare, the national insurance program.

The state agency then reviewed bills from RapidCare and found the improper billing practices, Anderson said. She said the state is still researching how much money was overpaid.