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Richard Carino, M.D.; Revocation of Registration
FR Doc E7-24606 [Federal Register: December 19, 2007 (Volume 72,
Number 243)] [Notices] [Page 71955-71956] From the Federal Register
Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr19de07-113]
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration
[Docket No. 06-44]
Richard Carino, M.D.; Revocation of Registration
On December 23, 2005, the Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of
Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement Administration, issued an Order to
Show Cause to Richard Carino, M.D. (Respondent), of Port Richey,
Florida. The Show Cause Order proposed the revocation of Respondent's
DEA Certificates of Registration, BC5048043 and BC7752024, as a
practitioner, on the ground that he had committed acts which rendered
his registration "inconsistent with the public interest.'' Show Cause
Order at 1 (citing 21
U.S.C. 823(f) and 824(a)(4)).
More specifically, the Show Cause Order alleged that between
September 2003 and July 2004, Respondent, "while working for
iPharmacy.MD,'' had issued between "100 to 2000 prescriptions per month
over the internet, most'' of which were for controlled substances. Id.
at 5. The Show Cause Order alleged that Respondent "never saw the
customers and * * * had no prior doctor-patient relationship with
them,'' that he did not "conduct physical examinations of the customers
and [that he] did not create or maintain patient records.'' Id. The Show
Cause Order further alleged that "[t]he only information [Respondent]
reviewed prior to issuing a prescription was a questionnaire completed
by the customer, and [that he] never consulted with the customer's
primary care physician or obtained prior medical records.'' Id. at 5-6.
The Show Cause Order thus alleged that "[t]he controlled substance
prescriptions issued by [Respondent] over the internet were not
[[Page 71956]]
issued in the usual course of [his] professional practice, or for a
legitimate medical purpose, in violation of 21
CFR 1306.04 and 21
U.S.C. 841(a).'' Id. at 5.
Respondent timely requested a hearing on the allegations. The matter
was assigned to Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Mary Ellen Bittner, who
conducted a hearing on March 27, 2007, in Tampa, Florida.
On July 16, 2007, while the ALJ's decision was still pending, the
Government moved for summary disposition. The basis of the motion was
that on April 17, 2007, the Florida Board of Medicine had issued a final
order which indefinitely suspended Respondent's state medical license
and that because Respondent was no longer authorized to handle
controlled substances under state law, he was not entitled to hold a DEA
registration. Gov. Mot. for Summ. Disp. at 2. The Government supported
its motion with a copy of the Florida Board's order. See id. at
Attachment.
In his response to the motion, Respondent stated that he "does not,
and cannot, dispute [the] assertion'' that he "is no longer licensed to
practice medicine in the State of Florida.'' Respondent's Resp. at 1.
Respondent also acknowledged that "the Government's motion * * * is well
taken.'' Id.
On August 7, 2007, the ALJ issued her recommended decision. Finding
that Respondent had "concede[d] that he is without state authority * * *
to handle controlled substances * * * in Florida,'' the ALJ concluded
that there were no material facts in dispute. ALJ Dec. at 3. Noting that
this Agency has consistently held that a practitioner "must be currently
authorized to dispense controlled substances `in the course of
professional practice,' '' in order to hold a DEA registration, the ALJ
granted the Government's motion and recommended that Respondent's
registration be revoked. ALJ at 2-3 (quoting 21
U.S.C. 802(21)). The ALJ then forwarded the record to me for final
agency action.
Having considered the record in this matter, I adopt the ALJ's
recommended decision in its entirety. I find that although Respondent's
registrations expired on August 31, 2005, Respondent submitted timely
renewal applications for each registration and therefore, his
registrations remain in effect pending the issuance of this Final Order.
See 5 U.S.C. 558(c); GX 1. I also find that effective on April 17, 2007,
the Florida Board of Medicine issued a final order which indefinitely
suspended Respondent's medical license. See Gov. Mot. for Summ. Disp.,
Attachment at 1-3. I therefore further find that Respondent is without
authority under Florida law to dispense or otherwise handle controlled
substances in the course of medical practice.
Under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), a practitioner must be
currently authorized to handle controlled substances in "the
jurisdiction in which he practices'' in order to maintain a DEA
registration. See 21 U.S.C. 802(21) ("[t]he term `practitioner' means a
physician * * * licensed, registered, or otherwise permitted, by * * *
the jurisdiction in which he practices * * * to distribute, dispense,
[or] administer * * * a controlled substance in the course of
professional practice''). See also id. Sec.
823(f) ("The Attorney General shall register practitioners * * * if
the applicant is authorized to dispense * * * controlled substances
under the laws of the State in which he practices.''). As these
provisions make plain, possessing authority to dispense a controlled
substance under the laws of the State in which a physician practices
medicine is an essential condition for holding a DEA registration.
Accordingly, DEA has repeatedly held that the CSA requires the
revocation of a registration issued to a practitioner whose state
license has been suspended or revoked. See Sheran Arden Yeates, 71 FR
39130, 39131 (2006); Dominick A. Ricci, 58 FR 51104, 51105 (1993); Bobby
Watts, 53 FR 11919, 11920 (1988). See also 21
U.S.C. 824(a)(3)(authorizing the revocation of a registration "upon
a finding that the registrant * * * has had his State license or
registration suspended [or] revoked * * * and is no longer authorized by
State law to engage in the * * * distribution [or] dispensing of
controlled substances''). Because Respondent's Florida medical license
has been indefinitely suspended, he is not entitled to maintain his DEA
registrations.
Order
Pursuant to the authority vested in me by 21
U.S.C. 823(f) and 824(a),
as well as 28 CFR 0.100(b) & 0.104, I hereby order that DEA
Certificates of Registration, BC5048043 and BC7752024, issued to Richard
Carino, M.D., be, and they hereby are, revoked. I further order that the
pending applications of Richard Carino, M.D., for renewal or
modification of each registration be, and they hereby are, denied. This
order is effective January 18, 2008.
Dated: December 7, 2007.
Michele M. Leonhart,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. E7-24606 Filed 12-18-07; 8:45 am]
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