Med Board Fines Two Doctors After Bristol Hospital Patient Dies Of Sepsis

The state Medical Examining Board today issued $5,000 fines to three physicians including two Bristol Hospital Emergency Department doctors who failed to diagnose and treat a patient with sepsis who later died. Another physician was also disciplined by the board for failing to act on test results. Dr. Syed Hadi and Dr. Waile Ramadan both treated a man who was brought to the Bristol Hospital Emergency Department on Jan. 7, 2019 with a high fever and other symptoms of a bacterial infection but never prescribed antibiotics, according to state Department of Public Health (DPH) investigators. The man died of sepsis two days later, documents said.

Med Board Suspends Doctor’s License For Failing To Follow Probation Orders

The state Medical Examining Board agreed Tuesday to suspend the license of a physician who is accused of repeatedly failing to comply with the terms of his prior discipline for abusing alcohol. The board also disciplined a neurologist for his prescribing habits and supported a plan to reinstate the medical license of a former Madison physician who was convicted of criminal drug charges. In 2012, the board revoked the medical license of John D. Lynch II, a former emergency department physician with Hartford HealthCare, after he was fired for coming to work smelling of alcohol, state Department of Public Health (DPH) documents said. The board reinstated Lynch’s license in January 2020 and in February 2021 Lynch could have resumed practicing medicine in Connecticut under a three-year probation with certain conditions, including that he continue to seek alcohol abuse treatment, submit to random urine screens and attend private and group treatment. In June, a private therapist issued a report to the agency indicating that Lynch “was not able to practice medicine with reasonable skill or safety.” DPH documents also said that since February, when the probationary period began, Lynch has not attended individual or support group treatment meetings, failed to submit random urine screens and failed to participate in a required clinical skills evaluation.

Doctor Under Investigation For Giving COVID Vaccine Exemptions Surrenders License

The Durham doctor whose license was temporarily suspended for giving out exemptions for COVID-19 vaccines and masks without examining the patients surrendered her medical license Friday, according to the state Department of Public Health. Dr. Susan McIntosh was being investigated by the DPH after she was accused of allowing people to mail her Durham practice a self-addressed, stamped envelope to receive signed exemptions, the DPH said. Her license to practice medicine and surgery was suspended by the state Medical Examining Board until a hearing scheduled for Oct. 5, officials said. It’s uncertain whether that hearing will go forward.

State Medical Board Issues $5,000 Fines To Two Doctors

The state Medical Examining Board on Tuesday issued $5,000 fines to two physicians, including one who failed to further evaluate a lesion found by an MRI in the vertebra of a patient; and slightly loosened the restrictions placed on a Torrington doctor who successfully completed a five-year probationary period. Gabriel Abella, a doctor practicing physical medicine and pain management, provided care to a patient from August to October 2017, state Department of Public Health (DPH) documents show. During that time, the patient received an MRI which showed a suspicious lesion within the vertebrae, the DPH said. But Abella did not acknowledge the radiologist’s report that indicated there was a lesion and didn’t order any further follow-up care to evaluate the lesion, DPH documents show. In addition to the $5,000 fine, the board reprimanded Abella’s license and placed it on probation for one year.

State Allows Doctor To Treat Patients Via Telehealth While On Probation

The state Medical Examining Board voted to allow a physician whose license has been suspended in several states to practice telemedicine in Connecticut. The board in November suspended the Connecticut license of Dr. Roozbeh Badii after learning that he had been disciplined in Maryland and Virginia. The Connecticut suspension was to remain in place until the board could hold a hearing to determine his mental fitness to practice. Instead, Badii agreed to waive the hearing and accept the terms of a consent order which places his license on probation for two years, but allows him to provide telehealth services to patients. The approval of the consent order by the board terminates the suspension, DPH officials said.

State Fines 3 Docs A Total Of $25,500

The state Medical Examining Board has disciplined three doctors and fined them a total of $25,500 for lapses in the care of patients. The board, meeting in Hartford on July 16, reprimanded Dr. William Guinan of South Windsor and fined him $10,000 for failing to perform PAP smears on one of his patients for six years after having diagnosed her with cancer in 2009, state records show. Guinan surgically removed the woman’s uterus and one ovary to treat the cancer, a consent order he agreed to said. In 2015, she was diagnosed with Stage III metastatic vaginal cancer. The order said Guinan had failed to adequately document a treatment plan for her in 2009, failed to instruct the patient about her long-term cancer risks and failed to review her medical history during exams over the next six years.

State Fines Docs For Overprescribing Meds, Having A Relationship With A Patient, Wrong Site Incision

The state Medical Examining Board on Tuesday disciplined five doctors, including fining a West Hartford psychiatrist $7,500 for prescribing excessive doses of Xanax and fining a Hamden ophthalmologist $7,500 for having a consensual relationship with an adult patient. The board also reprimanded the medical license of the psychiatrist, Dr. Dale Wallington, for performing an inadequate diagnosis of the patient and for failing to implement strategies between 2008 and 2017 to prevent the patient’s abuse of Xanax and Vyvanse, a consent order Wallington agreed to said. Vyvanse is used to treat attention deficit disorder. The board also placed Wallington’s license on probation for 18 months, during which he must take a course in prescribing practices and hire a physician to review a portion of his medical records, the order said. In a letter to the state Department of Public Health, the patient’s parents complained about Wallington’s care of their son and objected to the consent order.

Med Board Disciplines Three Medical Practitioners

The state Medical Examining Board on Tuesday disciplined three medical practitioners, including fining a New London urologist $3,500 for inappropriate treatment of a patient’s bladder tumor. The urologist, Dr. Anthony Quinn, was also reprimanded for failing to promptly respond to the same patient’s lab result, a consent order he agreed to said. The board also placed his medical license on probation for one year. During that year, Quinn must hire a specialist to review his records for each of his patients with diagnoses of bladder tumors or bladder cancer, the order said. The state Department of Public Health’s (DPH) investigation began in 2012 when the patient complained that she had to undergo the complete removal of her bladder by another surgeon after Quinn cared for her, state records show.

Med Board Fines Hamden, West Haven Doctors

The state Medical Examining Board Tuesday disciplined four doctors, including fining a Hamden doctor $3,500 for allowing medical assistants to give patients medication, including a nasal anesthetic. The board also reprimanded the physician, Craig Hecht, an ear, nose and throat doctor, after the state Department of Public Health found he failed to maintain appropriate infection controls in his Madison office, a consent order he signed with the board said. The order said he kept expired medications, failed to follow proper sterilization procedures and failed to keep appropriate sterilization records. Hecht also has offices in Hamden and Milford, but the problems were confined to his Madison office, the order said. Hecht chose not to contest the allegations while admitting no wrongdoing.

Med Board Drops Charges Against Fairfield Doc, Disciplines Two Others

The state Medical Examining Board on Tuesday dropped all charges against a former Fairfield doctor who illegally prescribed oxycodone because the doctor has voluntarily surrendered his medical license. Paul Bellofiore, 57, of Trumbull, gave up his license in October, state Department of Public Health records show. Bellofiore, who had practiced in Fairfield, also agreed not to contest the allegations against him if he ever seeks to have his license reinstated. In February, Bellofiore was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Hartford to two years of probation for illegally prescribing the painkiller. Judge Alvin W. Thompson also ordered him to perform 200 hours of community service and prohibited Bellofiore from writing prescriptions for controlled substances until Oct.