LAURINBURG — Dr. Matthew Block is no stranger to discipline from the North Carolina Medical Board over the past 15 years, but in September he was subject to what amounts to the “death penalty” for his medical license in the state of New York — sparked by incidents in North Carolina.
According to documents obtained in December by The Laurinburg Exchange, Block’s medical license was revoked by the New York State Department of Health’s Hearing Committee. The unanimous vote put the order into effect on Sept. 26, 2018.
Block did not attend the hearing in Albany, New York.
“I haven’t practiced in New York State for 20 years and I don’t plan on practicing in the state — but I still held the license,” Block said this week. “Whenever you hold a medical license and you get into trouble with the medical board, it gets reported to all states where you hold a license.
“It took New York state a few years to process it and they asked for me to meet with them to discuss it or just lose my license,” he added. “Since I don’t plan on returning to practice there I let them take my license. It’s not a new event, it’s based on what has already happened.”
According to a spokesperson with the North Carolina Medical Board, the action in New York would have no effect on Block’s license in North Carolina.
“That board’s action resulted from what took place here (in North Carolina) in 2017, so there would be no need for further action in North Carolina,” said Jean Fisher Brinkley with the N.C. Medical Board in Raleigh. “We perform reviews after action (by other states), so we are aware of what happens on an investigation side.”
According to the documentation, Block originally received his license to practice medicine in New York State on Feb. 12, 1992, and he was issued a license to practice medicine in North Carolina on April 26, 2001. That license allowed him to practice as a cardiologist and internal medicine at his business, Scotland Cardiology in Laurinburg.
Within two years, professional misconduct problems began to follow Block. They included:
— July 2003, Block entered into a consent order with the North Carolina Medical Board in which he was reprimanded for allowing his (then wife, Desiree) to access his patient charts and allowing (her) to sign his name to the patient charts.
— November 2008, Block entered into a consent order with the Board in which his license was suspended for two years, with the suspension immediately stayed. Block was placed on indefinite probation. The Board found and Block admitted, in relevant part, that he had not documented several prescriptions to some of his employees and former employees and that he had authorized numerous prescriptions for controlled substances to a relative. He was prohibited from issuing prescriptions for any family members or employees of his office. Block was required to maintain strict and ongoing supervision over his employees and was required to maintain complete, timely, and thorough medical records on all patients.
— January 2011, Block requested that he be relieved of the terms and conditions of his consent order. In his letter requesting termination of the consent order, he stated, “I fully understand that my practice of medicine will always be implicitly under probation and that my practice of medicine, more than other physicians, must follow the letter of the law, in view of the mistakes I have made.” In April 2011, Dr. Block was relieved of the terms and conditions of the November 2008 consent order.
— September 2015, the Board received a complaint alleging that Block was not recording nuclear stress test results in his patients’ medical records in a timely manner. During an interview with a Board investigator, Block stated that he had read the tests and that the test results were immediately at hand in his office — but he acknowledged at the interview that he was behind in his dictation and was working to bring all cases current. He indicated that he anticipated having all of his medical records current by July 2016.
— September 2015, the Board received allegations that Block had authorized one or more prescriptions for Ambien to an employee … with the intent and for the purpose of diverting it for his own use. Dr. Block denies that he authorized prescriptions to (that) or any other patient. Block specifically denies diverting (the patient’s) medication for his own use. However, Block admits that between January 2014 and March 2015, he authorized four or five telephone prescriptions for Lunesta and/or Ambien to (another patient), a member of Block’s immediate family. That patient’s primary care physician had also prescribed these medications. Block acknowledges that by writing prescriptions for these controlled substances … and by not keeping his medical records up-to-date, that he departed from or failed to conform to the standards of acceptable and prevailing medical practice.
— June 2015, a staff member at Scotland Memorial Hospital reported that Dr. Block seemed ‘euphoric’ and overly tired one Monday morning. The Hospital asked Block to undergo breath and urine testing that day and he agreed (they came back negative). Before being tested, Block said that he took prescribed Ambien for sleep (and) that he took an occasional Hydrocodone, a Schedule II controlled substance, for back pain, and/or an occasional Phentermine for energy. Block acknowledges that the Hydrocodone and Phentermine had been prescribed for an immediate family member, instead of him, and that he obtained these medications from that immediate family member.
— Sept. 3, 2015, Block signed a non-practice agreement, in which he agreed he would not practice medicine until he was evaluated and cleared to return to work by the North Carolina Physician’s Health Program. During a four-day residential substance-abuse evaluation at Talbott Recovery in Atlanta, it was suggested that Block enter into a six-month monitoring contract with NCPHP that required him to abstain from alcohol and non-prescribed drugs — which Block agreed to. Talbott also recommended that Dr. Block take the one-week Vanderbilt remedial prescription course in Nashville, Tennessee, which he completed in November 2015.
— November 2015, Block drank alcohol over Thanksgiving weekend in violation of his contract with NCPHP. His urine tested positive for alcohol metabolites. Therefore, in early December 2015, NCPHP sent him for a four-day residential evaluation at the Farley Center in Williamsburg, Virginia. The Farley Center diagnosed Block as having a moderate alcohol use disorder and recommended 90 days of residential treatment. Block asked NCPHP for a second opinion, and NCPBP agreed. In mid-December, Dr. Block went for a four-day residential evaluation at Fellowship Hall in Greensboro, where he was diagnosed as having a mild to moderate alcohol use disorder and recommended 30 days of residential treatment. Dr. Block agreed.
— December 2015, Fellowship Hall changed its recommendation from 30 to 90 days of residential care. Dr. Block disagreed with this recommendation. After completing 30 days of residential care at Fellowship Hall, Block, with the approval of NCPHP, went to Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee, to obtain its opinion about whether another 60 days of residential care was necessary. Vanderbilt agreed with Fellowship Hall’s recommendation (and) Block accepted this recommendation and completed another 60 days of residential care at Pavilion in Mill Springs instead of returning to Fellowship Hall. Block completed his treatment at Pavilion in late March 2016.
— November 2017, Block’ s license to practice medicine in North Carolina is hereby placed on suspension for 24 months from the date of this consent order. The suspension will be immediately stayed and remain stayed so long as Dr. Block adheres to the following terms and conditions, which includes being restricted and prohibited from prescribing Schedule I, II/IIN, III/IIIN, and IV controlled substances; finish dictation in a timely manner and shall maintain complete and timely medical records for all patients (and) all medical records shall accurately state the date and time of interpretation; shall maintain his current contract with NCPHP and abide by its terms, including the timely payment of any fees required by NCPHP; unless lawfully prescribed for him by someone other than himself, Dr. Block shall refrain from the use or possession of alcohol and all other mind- or mood-altering substances and all controlled substances including but not limited to, sedatives, stimulants, and pain medication; and shall supply urine, blood, hair, or any other bodily fluid or tissue sample the Board might reasonably require for the purposes of analysis to determine if he has consumed any of the substances mentioned above.
It was that final disciplinary action that caused the state of New York to revoke Block’s medical license there.
“I feel certain that New York was aware of the action taken here in November 2017, and that caused the hearing which resulted in his license being revoked,” Brinkley said.
In its documentation concerning the case, the N.Y. Department of Health stated, “the Hearing Committee sustained the charges finding the physician guilty of having committed professional misconduct by having been disciplined by the North Carolina Medical Board for prescribing controlled substances to an immediate family member and then diverting the prescribed medication for his own personal use; failing to maintain medical records; and abusing alcohol.”
None of the events since 2003 rise to the level of criminal activity, which would be the thresh-hold for the Laurinburg City Council to consider action against Block, who serves as the city’s mayor.
“The issues are not related,” said City Attorney William Floyd. “His medical practice license and his eligibility as mayor do not affect each other … unless it was a criminal activity charge.”
All of Block’s disciplinary actions are posted on the N.C. Medical Board’s website at www.ncmedboard.org. Click on “Look up a doctor or PA” and type in the required information. That complete history can also be found attached to this story.
W. Curt Vincent and Katelin Gandee can each be reached at 910-506-3021 or individually at cvincent@laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com or kgandee@laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com.
