The Alaska State Medical Board on Thursday rejected a proposal by an Anchorage anesthesiologist to walk away from his medical license, and instead kept in place the emergency suspension of his license over allegations that he prescribed deadly levels of painkillers.
The board's decision rejecting the surrender of Mahmood Ahmad's license as a settlement to state allegations leaves open the possibility that the board could ultimately revoke the license following hearings set to begin late this month. Ahmad's main practice is in Arkansas, where his license is also under challenge.
In an earlier hearing in late May challenging the board's emergency suspension, Ahmad rebuffed allegations that he runs a "pill mill" out of his office at United Pain Care clinic on Lake Otis Parkway. He said he safely meets the needs of his clients.
The board's action on Thursday came as Alaska's opioid crisis received national attention, with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and other top officials hearing from Alaskans at an event in Palmer addressing the state's crisis with opioid painkillers and heroin.
Ahmad is facing similar trouble in Arkansas, where that state's medical board on Thursday also took up the issue of Ahmad's license in that state, taking a statement from one of Ahmad's attorneys, an Arkansas board official said.
The Arkansas State Medical Board in late May, on the heels of the suspension in Alaska, issued its own emergency order suspending Ahmad's license to practice there.
Ahmad owns a United Pain Care clinic in Sherwood, Arkansas.
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Arkansas officials did not reply to requests to determine what action that board took on Thursday, if any. Options included the termination of Ahmad's Arkansas license, continued suspension or other sanctions, according to the emergency order.
The Arkansas board previously investigated Ahmad over allegations of oversprescribing painkillers and improper record-keeping there. The board in 2015 agreed to drop the allegations after Ahmad fought the decision and said he would pay investigation costs, complete new training and undergo an audit of his record-keeping, according to news articles.
When Ahmad first applied to practice medicine in Alaska in 2013, he did not disclose that he was under investigation by the Arkansas medical board.
Ahmad is also the defendant in a pending federal lawsuit related to his business in Arkansas alleging he committed 121 violations of the Controlled Substances Act in 2012 and 2013.
Ahmad's case has touched a nerve in Alaska, where more people die of overdoses of opioid pain relievers than heroin.
High emotions were on display in Anchorage in May when Ahmad challenged the summary suspension, with parents protesting outside the hearing to warn of the dangers of painkillers. Ahmad is accused of overprescribing drugs including methadone, xanax, oxycodone and fentanyl.
Following that hearing, a state administrative law judge in June called abuse of prescription drugs a "major problem in Alaska" and determined that Ahmad presented an "immediate danger" to the public. The judge, Cheryl Mandala, recommended the board continue the suspension of Ahmad's license.
Seven board members took that step Thursday. Board president Grant Roderer, co-owner of Anchorage-based Advanced Pain Centers of Alaska and a physician certified in pain medicine, recused himself from the vote.
A hearing that could lead to the revocation of Ahmad's license by the Alaska board is set to start in Anchorage Aug. 29.