The Alabama State Board of Medical Examiners administers the rules that govern whether physicians can dispense controlled substances. If a physician can dispense controlled substances, he or she receives a controlled substances certificate. The board may also revoke such certificates, thereby ending the ability of the physician to dispense controlled substances.
The board issued an order directing a doctor to appear for a hearing to show why his certificate should not be revoked in view of violating Alabama Code § 20-2-54(a)(5) that prohibits the excessive dispensing of controlled substances to any patient. On February 17, 2010, the board revoked the doctor's certificate.
The doctor appealed the revocation to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. Ex mero motu (by its own motion), the court noted that the doctor had not appealed the board's decision within the 30-day time limit established by statute. For that reason, the doctor's appeal was dismissed, thereby affirming the board's decision. See Brunson v. Alabama State Board of Medical Examiners, decided on March 25, 2011.
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