STATE BOARD SUSPENDS LICENSE

RALEIGH - Dr. Joseph Talley will not be able to practice medicine in North
Carolina for at least 12 months.

The N.C. Medical Board on Thursday suspended the Grover family doctor's
license following an emotion-packed afternoon of testimony by doctors and
some of Talley's patients.

"It is the decision of the medical board that Dr. Talley's license be
suspended indefinitely for a minimum of 12 months," announced board
President Dr. Walter J. Pories.

Immediately after the decision was announced, Talley stood and spoke to his
lawyer, Robert M. Clay of Raleigh. They then went back to another room. Tom
Mansfield, an attorney for the medical board, offered to shake Talley's
hand as they passed each other, but Talley did not offer his hand in return.

Shortly afterward, Talley left the building, greeted and thanked his
patients and well-wishers who made the trip to Raleigh to support him.

"I'm disappointed with their verdict," Talley said. He said he now plans to
spend time with his family.

"I've been negligent about one thing, and that's my own family," he said.
He said he has not had time to think about whether he will appeal the
board's ruling.

The ruling means that Talley's license will be suspended for at least 12
months. After that time, he can apply to the medical board for
reinstatement, said Dale Breaden, a spokesman for the medical board.

Mansfield said he could not comment on the board's ruling.

Clay said he was disappointed in it.

"I had hoped for much less in the way of his suspension," Clay said. "This
is a sad day for Dr. Talley and his patients." He said that he did not know
whether he would recommend that Talley appeal the ruling.

The medical board, following a three-day hearing last month, ruled that
Talley deviated from the acceptable standard of care for a number of his
patients by failing to perform adequate physical examinations, failing to
perform follow-up physical examinations, failing to inquire during each
patient visit whether patients received medications from other doctors or
other sources and failing to adequately monitor patient compliance with his
prescription drug regimen.

The board also found that he deviated from standard practices by
stockpiling the drug commonly called Fen-Phen from his patients for his own
use after the drug had been taken off the market.

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has already suspended Talley's
privileges for prescribing controlled substances and linked the doctor to
23 overdose deaths.

Thursday's ruling came after almost four hours of arguments and testimony
from doctors, patients, friends and widows of former patients about what
Talley's punishment should be.

One witness, the widow of one of Talley's patients, testified behind closed
doors. Another witness was Fayleen Huffstetler of Cherryville, a former
patient of Talley's and the widow of another patient of Talley's. Ms.
Huffstetler's husband died from a drug overdose.

Board attorney William Breeze asked Ms. Huffstetler how encounters with
Talley had affected her family.

"I would say they were shattering," she responded.

Ms. Huffstetler, who previously admitted that both she and her husband were
drug addicts, was asked to give her opinion about what the board should do
about Talley.

"If Dr. Talley helped 100 patients and then he caused one death by
negligence - not asking him any questions on that last day - what would you
do?" she said rhetorically.

Denise Cooper, executive director of Cleco Primary Care Network, said that
if Talley were to lose his license, her organization would accept Talley's
patients. She said CLECO operates clinics in Cleveland, Gaston and
Rutherford counties.

Under cross-examination by Clay, Ms. Cooper said that doctors at one of the
CLECO clinics would likely refer some pain patients to pain clinics.

However, Dr. Jack D. Williams, a retired head and neck surgeon from Shelby,
said he did not think that Talley should lose his license.

"I do think he needs to keep his license," Williams said.

Williams said he has known Talley for years.

"Through the years, we would refer patients to each other," he said.

He noted that a lot of Talley's patients came to his defense after reports
of his problems were published.

"When this issue made the papers, almost daily there were letters
supporting Dr. Talley, and they were passionate letters."

Dr. Alan Spanos, a Chapel Hill physician who specializes in the treatment
of chronic pain, testified that Talley should be allowed to keep his
license but should list the steps Talley should take to correct problems.

"It will be quite easy to verify whether he brings his practice up to the
standard of care," Spanos said.

Talley's patients also said that he should be allowed to keep his license.

"I have a much better quality of life because of Dr. Talley," said Robin
Whisnant Heath of Shelby, who has been a patient of Talley's for 12 years.
She said that Talley had treated her for back pain and made her able to
raise a physically challenged daughter.

The Rev. Ronald T. Bernier of Missouri testified that he had twice
considered committing suicide before being treated by Talley for migraine
headaches and back pain.

"My life had ceased," he said. "At one time I had put a gun in my mouth ..
If you pull Dr. Talley's license, the suicide rate is going to skyrocket."

Talley himself said his career had already been damaged. "The damage is
already done," he said. Talley added that taking his license would "send an
even more chilling message to all the other doctors in this state who feel
compassionate to people who are feeling pain."

In closing arguments, Clay encouraged the board to effectively give Talley
a suspended sentence on the condition that Talley meet certain conditions
related to patient care.

"Joseph Talley is not a man who is lacking in intelligence," Clay said. "He
would have complied with whatever the board asked him to do.

"It seems to me that the evidence that you have heard is that Dr. Talley
has done a lot of positive good."

He said that Talley had periodically informed the board about his pain
management techniques and had asked the board to tell him if he was doing
anything wrong.

Clay also said that Talley was complying with a board position statement on
the treatment of chronic pain. That position said that doctors should not
fear reprisals from regulators for prescribing opiates.

But Mansfield argued that the board should revoke Talley's license.

"This case is not a referendum on pain management," Mansfield said. "This
is a case about basic medicine."

"In light of Dr. Talley's reckless indifference to the standards of North
Carolina, I ask that you revoke his license."

He said that Talley had been defiant and that he did not believe setting up
conditions for him to keep his license would be a good idea.

"He specifically says that he will not apologize," Mansfield said. "It is a
tremendous predictor of his return to practice."

Dr. Bob Crummie, a Rutherfordton psychiatrist who had earlier testified on
Talley's behalf, called Thursday's ruling "very cowardly."

"I think it has set medicine back in North Carolina at least 10 years," he
said.

Jay Whitmire of Conover, who testified that Talley had treated his wife for
migraine headaches, said he expected such a ruling.

"I think they had fully intended on revoking his license," he said, but
Whitmire said the support shown Talley by his supporters caused them not to
do so.