(a) The director shall appoint a Patient Qualification Review Advisory Board to serve at his pleasure. The Patient Qualification Review Advisory Board shall be comprised of:
(1) a physician licensed to practice medicine in South Carolina and certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology;
(2) a physician licensed to practice medicine in South Carolina and certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and also certified in the subspecialty of medical oncology;
(3) a physician licensed to practice medicine in South Carolina and certified by the American Board of Psychiatry; and
(4) a pharmacologist holding a Doctoral degree or its equivalent.
Members of the board shall be paid the usual per diem, mileage and subsistence as provided by law for members of boards, commissions and committees.
(b) The department shall review all applicants for the controlled substances therapeutic research program and their licensed practitioners and certify their participation in the program.
(c) The department, in its discretion, may include other disease groups for participation in the controlled substances therapeutic research program after pertinent medical data have been presented by a practitioner to both the director and the department and after necessary approval is received by the appropriate federal agencies.