The state medical board has indefinitely suspended the medical license of a Mebane doctor who has previously admitted to having a substance abuse problem and tested positive for a controlled substance, in violation of a December 2017 agreement that had allowed him to resume practicing medicine.
The North Carolina Medical Board (NCMB) has indefinitely suspended the medical license for Dr. Timothy John McGrath of Mebane, who was most recently affiliated with a clinic at 101 Medical Park Drive in Mebane. The practice was originally owned by Kernodle Clinic but is now part of the Duke Health network, according to information on file with the state board.
McGrath has struggled with substance abuse for years, based on two earlier suspensions issued by the NCMB.
McGrath was reprimanded by the state medical board in 2010 after an investigation revealed that he had improperly prescribed opioid painkillers, sleeping pills, and other medication to three family members over a period of several years. In May 2012, McGrath voluntarily surrendered his medical license; and in July 2014 and May 2017, the NCMB suspended his medical license due to his ongoing problems with substance abuse, according to previous orders entered by the state medical board.
McGrath later underwent substance abuse treatment through the state’s Physician Health Program (NCPHP), according to documents on file with the medical board, which is responsible for licensing and monitoring doctors in North Carolina. McGrath was fully reinstated to practice medicine in December 2017, on the condition that he refrain from possessing or using alcohol; mind-altering substances; and/or any controlled substances, to include any prescription medication “not lawfully prescribed for him” by another doctor, according to the NCMB.
Earlier this year, McGrath tested positive for a controlled substance during a routine drug test that was administered by the NCPHP, in keeping with requirements that the medical board had imposed as a condition for reinstatement in December 2017. (The latest suspension issued by the NCMB does not specify what type of substance McGrath had in his system when he underwent drug testing in June 2020.)
McGrath asked to have his medical license transferred to inactive status in June of this year, according to the suspension that has been issued by the NCMB. He has been licensed to practice medicine in North Carolina since 2002, according to the state medical board.
Documents that are on file with the NCMB list McGrath’s address as 2016 Allen Jarrett Road, Mebane.
