This month Swiss customs agents seized one million fake tablets of anti-anxiety drug Xanax at the Zurich airport. The story was one incident, of a growing international problem surrounding fake prescription medications reaching the hands of innocent consumers. So, this incident would raise questions about what else might be fake in health care delivery? Is there a problem with fake doctors?
On July 1, 2000, the California Medical Board was given the authority for four investigator positions that established the Operation Safe Medicine (OSM) unit whose sole purpose was to investigate complaints of unlicensed medical activity. This unit also worked with other regulatory and law enforcement agencies to find unlicensed facilities. The Board summarized the performance of OSM in the 2012 Sunset Review Report to the California Legislature. The Report said that the volume and seriousness of the cases thus far investigated by OSM underscores the importance of this unit. Cases that staff investigated include the unlicensed practice of midwifery (result: conviction); a subject stealing the identity of a physician assistant and forging documents (felony charges filed); the unlicensed practice of medicine resulting in burns to a patient from a cosmetic procedure (felony charges filed); and a myriad of other violations of law. OSM has developed such an excellent reputation as a group of highly skilled, specialized and effective investigators of unlicensed practice . It is now receiving referrals from other law enforcement agencies, including the Orange County and Los Angeles County District Attorney’s offices. The Report highlighted some examples of fake doctors.
The San Jose office investigated an unlicensed individual who was performing hemorrhoid surgery and almost killed a man when his colon was perforated with a prong.
In the San Francisco area, an unlicensed individual, Carlos Guzmangarza, 49, performed liposuction in an unsanitary office while smoking a cigar and not wearing gloves. The victim held her own IV bag because there was no assistant. Board investigators executed a search and arrest warrant . The subject was charged with over 35 felonies. Guzmangarza assumed the identity of a physician assistant who shared a similar name and ran Derma Clinic, a dermatology office on Mission Street in San Francisco. After an initial round of press coverage spurred additional victims to come forward, prosecutors filed amended charges against him. They included practicing medicine without a license, false impersonation, identity theft, rape and grand theft.
In the San Jose area, a disbarred attorney was practicing medicine at Shiny Toes clinics in San Francisco and San Ramon using a laser to cure toenail fungus. One child’s toenails fell off because of the treatment. Search and arrest warrants were served. The subject was convicted of 19 felonies. Cary Silberman was sentenced to four years and eight months on charges of practicing medicine without a license
In the Pleasant Hill office, an unlicensed individual was convicted after injecting an unknown substance into the faces of female victims, causing permanent disfigurement.
In the San Jose area, an unlicensed individual was convicted and is serving seven years in prison for performing face lifts with Exacto knives.
Other cases investigated by the unit have focused on vendors selling “big eye” contact lenses in Los Angeles. The lenses are popular in Asia and make the iris of the eye appear larger, but they can also cause eye damage.
Other states have had a similar problem. William Hamman shared millions in grants, had university and hospital posts, and bragged of work for prestigious medical groups. An Associated Press story featured him leading a teamwork training session at an American College of Cardiology convention. He duped hospitals, universities and even the AMA. But it turns out Hamman isn’t a cardiologist or even a doctor. The AP found he had no medical residency, fellowship, doctoral degree or the 15 years of clinical experience he claimed. He attended medical school for a few years but withdrew and didn’t graduate. Ernest Addo stole a physician’s identity and pretended to be a doctor for a year in South Carolina. He was hired as a general practitioner and provided the kind of exams patients would receive during a visit to the family doctor. Authorities said he also wrote prescriptions, including some for himself. also worked as a contract doctor for the South Carolina Department of Mental Health, filling in for a doctor on medical leave. After he made a small mistake on a death certificate. South Carolina health officials trying to fix the error contacted the doctor Addo was impersonating. He told them he hadn’t practiced medicine for a year in the state. This month an Annapolis woman was accused of faking medical license and treating pediatric patients. The Huffington Post has a page of fake doctor stories.
It would seem prudent claims practice in this climate to check and double check the identity and licensure of unknown treating physicians. The Medical Board of California website allows public access to license information and is a good starting point. Other professions such as chiropractors, and psychologists can similarly have license status verified online.