The Associated Press State & Local Wire

January 2, 2004, Friday, BC cycle

Former Bismarck psychiatrist’s license revoked

BYLINE: By JAMES MacPHERSON, Associated Press Writer

SECTION: State and Regional

LENGTH: 315 words

DATELINE: BISMARCK, N.D.

A psychiatrist accused of having a sexual relationship with a patient at a hospital here two years ago has permanently lost his license to practice medicine in North Dakota.
The state Board of Medical Examiners revoked the license of Alan Alexander, 35, on Monday.
The 11-member panel also took disciplinary action against two other doctors on Monday. That brings to 16 the number of “serious” actions against state-licensed doctors in 2003. The watchdog panel issued 14 serious disciplinary action against doctors in 2002.
Rolf Sletten, the board’s executive secretary, said Alexander was suspended last year, after the panel found evidence he had sex with a woman who was seeking treatment for problems stemming from earlier sex abuse. Alexander also allegedly provided the woman with drugs, prescribed for himself, that were not part of her treatment.
The doctor lives in Memphis, Tenn., Sletten said. Alexander does not have a telephone listing for a practice or a home in Memphis. Calls to his cell phone were not successful.
Alexander practiced at St. Alexius Medical Center in Bismarck from July 26, 2002, through Nov. 22, 2002, on a temporary basis. He did not live in North Dakota, but had a permanent state license to practice medicine, the medical board said.
Sletten said the board also suspended the license of Williston doctor David Kaba, 44, who “inappropriately solicited, monitored and administered” prescriptions for himself and his son. The board is requiring Kaba to complete an ethics course and a “mini residency in appropriate prescribing.”
The panel also restricted the license of Frederic Payne, 61, of Wheeling, W.Va. The board said it took action against Payne because he was disciplined in Kentucky for a “continued pattern of inappropriate care.” Payne must undergo a professional assessment before he can resume practice in North Dakota.