Notice2022-16630
Endre Kovacs, M.D.; Decision and Order
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 3, 2022
Issuing agencies
Justice DepartmentDrug Enforcement Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 148 (Wednesday, August 3, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 3, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47467-47468]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-16630]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration
Endre Kovacs, M.D.; Decision and Order
On April 12, 2022, the Drug Enforcement Administration
(hereinafter, DEA or Government) issued an Order to Show Cause
(hereinafter, OSC) to Endre Kovacs, M.D. (hereinafter, Registrant).
OSC, at 1,
[[Page 47468]]
3. The OSC proposed the revocation of Registrant's Certificate of
Registration No. BK5206695 at the registered address of 4476 Legendary
Drive, Suite 100, Destin, Florida 32541. Id. at 1. The OSC alleged that
Registrant's registration should be revoked because Registrant is
``without authority to handle controlled substances in the State of
Florida, the state in which [he is] registered with DEA.'' Id. at 2
(citing 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3)).
The Agency makes the following findings of fact based on the
uncontroverted evidence submitted by the Government in its Request for
Final Agency Action (RFAA), submitted July 7, 2022.\1\
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\1\ Based on the Declarations from a DEA Diversion Investigator
and a DEA Data Analyst that the Government submitted with its RFAA,
the Agency finds that the Government's service of the OSC on
Registrant was adequate. RFAA, Declaration 1, at 2; RFAA,
Declaration 2, at 1. Further, based on the Government's assertions
in its RFAA, the Agency finds that more than thirty days have passed
since Registrant was served with the OSC and Registrant has neither
requested a hearing nor submitted a written statement or corrective
action plan and therefore has waived any such rights. RFAA, at 1-3;
see also 21 CFR 1301.43(d)-(e) and 21 U.S.C. 824(c)(2)(C).
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Findings of Fact
On February 16, 2022, the Florida Board of Medicine issued a Final
Order suspending Registrant's license to practice medicine in the State
of Florida. RFAA, Declaration 1, Appendix C (Final Order), at 2; see
also id. at 7 (Settlement Agreement). According to Florida's online
records, of which the Agency takes official notice, Registrant's
license is still suspended and Registrant is not authorized to practice
medicine in Florida.\2\ Florida Department of Health License
Verification, <a href="https://mqa-internet.doh.state.fl.us/MQASearchServices/HealthCareProviders">https://mqa-internet.doh.state.fl.us/MQASearchServices/HealthCareProviders</a> (last visited date of signature of this Order).
Accordingly, the Agency finds that Registrant is not currently licensed
to engage in the practice of medicine in Florida, the state in which he
is registered with the DEA.
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\2\ Under the Administrative Procedure Act, an agency ``may take
official notice of facts at any stage in a proceeding--even in the
final decision.'' United States Department of Justice, Attorney
General's Manual on the Administrative Procedure Act 80 (1947) (Wm.
W. Gaunt & Sons, Inc., Reprint 1979). Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 556(e),
``[w]hen an agency decision rests on official notice of a material
fact not appearing in the evidence in the record, a party is
entitled, on timely request, to an opportunity to show the
contrary.'' Accordingly, Registrant may dispute the Agency's finding
by filing a properly supported motion for reconsideration of
findings of fact within fifteen calendar days of the date of this
Order. Any such motion and response shall be filed and served by
email to the other party and to Office of the Administrator, Drug
Enforcement Administration at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#56323337783732323978372222392438332f251632333778232532393c78313920"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f7939296d996939398d9968383988599928e84b7939296d9828493989dd9909881">[email protected]</span></a>.
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Discussion
Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3), the Attorney General is authorized
to suspend or revoke a registration issued under section 823 of the
Controlled Substances Act (hereinafter, CSA) ``upon a finding that the
registrant . . . has had his State license or registration suspended .
. . [or] revoked . . . by competent State authority and is no longer
authorized by State law to engage in the . . . dispensing of controlled
substances.'' With respect to a practitioner, the DEA has also long
held that the possession of authority to dispense controlled substances
under the laws of the state in which a practitioner engages in
professional practice is a fundamental condition for obtaining and
maintaining a practitioner's registration. See, e.g., James L. Hooper,
M.D., 76 FR 71,371 (2011), pet. for rev. denied, 481 F. App'x 826 (4th
Cir. 2012); Frederick Marsh Blanton, M.D., 43 FR 27,616, 27,617
(1978).\3\
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\3\ This rule derives from the text of two provisions of the
CSA. First, Congress defined the term ``practitioner'' to mean ``a
physician . . . or other person 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.'' 21 U.S.C.
802(21). Second, in setting the requirements for obtaining a
practitioner's registration, Congress directed that ``[t]he Attorney
General shall register practitioners . . . if the applicant is
authorized to dispense . . . controlled substances under the laws of
the State in which he practices.'' 21 U.S.C. 823(f). Because
Congress has clearly mandated that a practitioner possess state
authority in order to be deemed a practitioner under the CSA, the
DEA has held repeatedly that revocation of a practitioner's
registration is the appropriate sanction whenever he is no longer
authorized to dispense controlled substances under the laws of the
state in which he practices. See, e.g., James L. Hooper, 76 FR at
71,371-72; Sheran Arden Yeates, M.D., 71 FR 39,130, 39,131 (2006);
Dominick A. Ricci, M.D., 58 FR 51,104, 51,105 (1993); Bobby Watts,
M.D., 53 FR 11,919, 11,920 (1988); Frederick Marsh Blanton, 43 FR at
27,617.
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According to Florida statute, ``A practitioner, in good faith and
in the course of his or her professional practice only, may prescribe,
administer, dispense, mix, or otherwise prepare a controlled
substance.'' Fla. Stat. Sec. 893.05(1)(a) (2022). Further, a
``practitioner'' as defined by Florida statute includes ``a physician
licensed under chapter 458.\4\'' Id. at Sec. 893.02(23).
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\4\ Chapter 458 regulates medical practice.
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Here, the undisputed evidence in the record is that Registrant
currently is not a licensed practitioner in Florida, and a physician
must be a licensed practitioner to dispense a controlled substance in
Florida. Thus, Registrant is not eligible to maintain a DEA
registration in Florida. Accordingly, the Agency will order that
Registrant's DEA registration be revoked.
Order
Pursuant to 28 CFR 0.100(b) and the authority vested in me by 21
U.S.C. 824(a), I hereby revoke DEA Certificate of Registration No.
BK5206695 issued to Endre Kovacs, M.D. Further, pursuant to 28 CFR
0.100(b) and the authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. 823(f), I hereby
deny any pending applications of Endre Kovacs, M.D. to renew or modify
this registration, as well as any other pending application of Endre
Kovacs, M.D. for additional registration in Florida.
This Order is effective September 2, 2022.
Signing Authority
This document of the Drug Enforcement Administration was signed on
July 26, 2022, by Administrator Anne Milgram. That document with the
original signature and date is maintained by DEA. For administrative
purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the
Federal Register, the undersigned DEA Federal Register Liaison Officer
has been authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic
format for publication, as an official document of DEA. This
administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this
document upon publication in the Federal Register.
Heather Achbach,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, Drug Enforcement Administration.
[FR Doc. 2022-16630 Filed 8-2-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-09-P
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