Here are six physicians who have recently come under fire for patient safety deficiencies.
1. The Virginia Board of Medicine reprimanded Christopher Vincent, MD, for causing patient harm. On one occasion, Dr. Vincent performed surgery on a patient who went into cardiac arrest and later died. Three other patients suffered complications, ranging from multiple organ failure and corrective surgery, as a result of Dr. Vincent's care.
2. William J. Irvine, MD, was accused of improperly injecting a female patient with various narcotics and sedatives, including morphine and diazepam, from Aug. 2006-Nov. 2006. The female patient also worked for Dr. Irvine and had addictive tendencies. In 2006, a supervisor reportedly instructed Dr. Irvine to discontinue his relationship with and treatment of the patient. Despite this, Dr. Irvine continued to provide the patient prescriptions through Sept. 2010 for drugs, including diazepam and Vicodin.
3. The Florida Board of Medicine disciplined Margo Hirshman Roca, MD, a diagnostic radiologist, for failing to detect a "suspicious mass" in a patient in 2005. It took Dr. Roca nearly 10 months to find the patient's mass and recommend a biopsy. Dr. Roca has been ordered to pay nearly $10,000 in fines and board costs.
The board also disciplined Catherine L. Schane, MD, an anesthesiologist who was ordered to pay $4,000 in fines and board costs for performing a nerve block on the wrong leg of a patient in 2010 during knee reconstruction surgery. As a result, the surgery had to be rescheduled, according to the report.
4. Roberto Bonilla, MD, a surgeon from Inglewood, Calif., agreed to surrender his medical license after he was found guilty for his role in a patient's death. According to the Medical Board of California's complaint, Dr. Bonilla performed gallbladder surgery in his office without an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist and delivered a fatal dose of lidocaine.
5. Michal Hytros, MD, from Park Ridge, Ill., was reprimanded by the Illinois Dept. of Financial and Professional Regulation, according to government documentation. According to the IDFPR, Dr. Hytros was reprimanded and ordered to pay $5,000 for inadequate recordkeeping.
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1. The Virginia Board of Medicine reprimanded Christopher Vincent, MD, for causing patient harm. On one occasion, Dr. Vincent performed surgery on a patient who went into cardiac arrest and later died. Three other patients suffered complications, ranging from multiple organ failure and corrective surgery, as a result of Dr. Vincent's care.
2. William J. Irvine, MD, was accused of improperly injecting a female patient with various narcotics and sedatives, including morphine and diazepam, from Aug. 2006-Nov. 2006. The female patient also worked for Dr. Irvine and had addictive tendencies. In 2006, a supervisor reportedly instructed Dr. Irvine to discontinue his relationship with and treatment of the patient. Despite this, Dr. Irvine continued to provide the patient prescriptions through Sept. 2010 for drugs, including diazepam and Vicodin.
3. The Florida Board of Medicine disciplined Margo Hirshman Roca, MD, a diagnostic radiologist, for failing to detect a "suspicious mass" in a patient in 2005. It took Dr. Roca nearly 10 months to find the patient's mass and recommend a biopsy. Dr. Roca has been ordered to pay nearly $10,000 in fines and board costs.
The board also disciplined Catherine L. Schane, MD, an anesthesiologist who was ordered to pay $4,000 in fines and board costs for performing a nerve block on the wrong leg of a patient in 2010 during knee reconstruction surgery. As a result, the surgery had to be rescheduled, according to the report.
4. Roberto Bonilla, MD, a surgeon from Inglewood, Calif., agreed to surrender his medical license after he was found guilty for his role in a patient's death. According to the Medical Board of California's complaint, Dr. Bonilla performed gallbladder surgery in his office without an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist and delivered a fatal dose of lidocaine.
5. Michal Hytros, MD, from Park Ridge, Ill., was reprimanded by the Illinois Dept. of Financial and Professional Regulation, according to government documentation. According to the IDFPR, Dr. Hytros was reprimanded and ordered to pay $5,000 for inadequate recordkeeping.
