Atlantic City Doctor Among 12 Who May Have CDS Registration Revoked

An Atlantic City-based doctor is among 12 physicians in the state named in an action seeking to strip them of their right to prescribe controlled dangerous substances (CDS), including highly addictive painkillers. The action was filed by Division of Consumer Affairs Director Eric T. Kanefsky, Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced on Thursday.

The New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners prescribes medical licenses, but it is the Division of Consumer Affairs that issues and restores CDS registrations.

Manuel Nigalan pleaded guilty in August, 2010 to unlawful distribution of CDS. He was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison, had his license revoked by the Board of Medical Examiners in February of this year and agreed to forfeit $613,000.

He wrote prescriptions for hundreds of dosages of CDS with no legitimate medical need to confidential sources and undercover agents, according to information provided by Kanefsky in an Order to Show Probable Cause. This included dosages of oxycontin, Roxicodone and Xanax.

He hired a security guard in his office to maintain order due to the high number of patients requesting CDS, according to the order. Federal data shows insurance companies paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for CDS prescriptions issued by Nigalan for non-legitimate purposes, according to the order.

Nigalan and each of the other doctors named has a hearing within 45 days of the Order being issued. Prior to that date, the doctor must provide a written rationale as to why their license shouldn’t be revoked. If the doctor fails to do this, the matter may be decided in his absence, Hoffman said.

After the hearing, Kanefsky may issue an order suspending or revoking their CDS registration.

Only one of the 12 doctors was not convicted in a state or federal court. The 12th doctor’s medical license was revoked due to a civil complaint that he indiscriminately prescribed CDS.

“Revocation of a doctor’s CDS registration, when a doctor has already been criminally convicted or lost his or her license, creates an additional barrier that will protect the public, should any of these doctors seek to have their medical license restored,” Hoffman said.