AUGUSTA – A physician’s assistant who had been practicing at the St. John Valley Health Center in Van Buren for about three years surrendered his license to practice in Maine this week instead of proceeding with an adjudicatory hearing.

James E. Wilson, 40, had his license suspended for moving out of the state without notifying the licensure board and for failing to provide weekly laboratory tests for substance abuse.

The board also received information that there had been a positive result indicating the use of a prohibited substance, according to a press statement.

Wilson, who was trained in Connecticut, obtained his original license in Maine on July 26, 2000.

Wilson, whose license was suspended at least twice before in Maine, is now working as a physician’s assistant in Florida.

The licensure board in Florida will be advised of the action taken in Maine, Randal Manning, director of Maine’s Board of Licensure in Medicine, said Wednesday afternoon.

Wilson had been accused of “unprofessional conduct and inappropriate prescribing practices” in July 2001 while working for Pine Health Services, operators of the Van Buren clinic, Manning said.

Wilson had signed a consent agreement which ordered substance abuse monitoring at the time.

In January 2002, his license was suspended for six months for not complying with the substance monitoring. A hearing resulted in his being suspended for six months.

Manning said Wilson was ordered to undergo substance abuse and psychiatric counseling. After counseling, his license was reinstated.

His license was again suspended in November 2003 for violations of his consent agreement.

The most recent action by the state board was taken on April 13, according to Manning.

Disciplinary action by the state board is reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank, the Health Improvement and Protection Data Bank, and the Federation of State Medical Boards Action Data Bank. Reports there are reviewed by state licensing boards, according to Manning.