AUGUSTA — William Ortiz agreed to accept a reprimand in a consent agreement signed with the Maine Board of Licensure in Medicine on September 9.  Ortiz was reprimanded for failing to create and maintain adequate records and for the manner and location of his medical marijuana clinics. In addition, Ortiz was fined $2,000 and must reimburse the Board $1,411.76 for costs related to the investigation. Ortiz, who has been licensed in Maine since 2012, held his clinics in Orono.

Ortiz held a "medical seminar" in Orono at a rented conference room in March 2013. Ortiz saw fifty-nine people over two days and provided three-month medical marijuana certificates. Forty-four records did not include any documentation that an examination was performed. In addition, Ortiz created a negative impression of his activities by conducting clinics at local hotels, seeing patients at unusual times, including appointments until 3 a.m., and by handling too numerous a patient load. Ortiz admits the Board has sufficient evidence from which it could conclude he engaged in unprofessional conduct and agrees he shall not engage in this type of conduct again.

All Board disciplinary actions are reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank and the Federation of State Medical Boards Action Data Bank. These reports are regularly reviewed by every state licensing board in the country.

The Board is made up of six physicians, three public members, and a physician assistant appointed by the governor. Disciplinary actions taken by the Board are available to the public either by telephone at (207) 287-3601, or on the Board's website at www.maine.gov/md.

The Board of Licensure in Medicine is the State of Maine agency charged to protect the health and welfare of the public by verifying the qualifications of physicians to practice, and disciplining physicians for unprofessional conduct and incompetence. Any citizen can request an investigation of a physician or physician assistant by contacting the Board office by telephone at (207) 287-3608, by letter, or by visiting the Board's web site.