An 84-year-old Indian-American doctor in Florida, Ishwari Prasad, has been punished after two botched colonoscopy procedures. In one of these cases, the patient wasn’t fully sedated and cried out in pain, but Dr. Prasad didn’t hear the cries because he wasn’t wearing his hearing aids.
Dr. Prasad has held a license to practice in Florida since 1990. However, after these incidents, he was fined $7,500, placed on probation, and required to pay $6,301 in case costs. Additionally, he must complete a five-hour course on medical ethics.
The terms of his probation state that he cannot perform procedures alone until he successfully completes 10 supervised gastroenterology procedures, as mandated by the Florida Board of Medicine. These actions were taken after the Florida Department of Health reviewed two problematic procedures.
Both colonoscopies occurred on June 5 of the previous year at the Tampa Ambulatory Surgery Centre in Florida. A colonoscopy is a procedure where a doctor uses a flexible tube with a camera to examine the inside of the colon.
According to a complaint, during one procedure, Dr. Prasad “improperly delegated” important tasks to an unlicensed surgical technician. This technician, who lacked medical training, was directed to insert and manipulate the scope.
In the second case, the doctor began the procedure before the patient was fully sedated, causing the patient to scream in pain. Despite clear signs that the patient was not adequately sedated, Dr. Prasad did not stop the procedure, a mistake attributed to his failure to wear his hearing aids.
The Miami Herald reported that even after being told to wait, Dr. Prasad continued the procedure, causing more discomfort to the patient. The investigation also revealed that the surgical technician routinely assisted the doctor with tasks beyond her training, as he was unable to perform them himself.
As a result of these findings, Dr. Prasad has been fined, placed on probation, and ordered to take a continuing medical education course by August 7 of next year.
