Medical License

A Springfield orthopedic surgeon accused of engaging in disruptive behavior in the operating room - including punching a door, throwing a surgical instrument, and threatening an anesthesiologist - has lost his license to practice medicine. On Wednesday, the Board of Registration in Medicine revoked the license of Dr. Harvey Grant, 78, a surgeon at Mercy Medical Center. Grant also failed to provide medical records to two patients in a timely fashion and failed to keep accurate and current records for many patients, the board said.

What do climate change and childhood vaccinations have in common? The scientific consensus supporting action on both fronts is under attack — but from opposite ends of the political spectrum. Over the last two decades, the number of parents who decline to vaccinate their children has skyrocketed. The movement against vaccinations has been fueled by a fraudulent and long-discredited study purporting to link the shots to autism (the study's main author has since lost his medical license)

ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. - With his second trial about to begin, an orthopedic surgeon accused of molesting a female patient during an exam pleaded no contest yesterday to a misdemeanor and agreed to a lifetime revocation of his medical license. Under the deal, Dr. Joseph Abate entered the plea to one count of a prohibited act - lewdness - in exchange for a suspended sentence of 9 to 12 months in jail, two years’ probation, and the lifetime ban. He will not be required to register as a sex offender.

A Springfield orthopedic surgeon accused of engaging in disruptive behavior in the operating room - including punching a door, throwing a surgical instrument, and threatening an anesthesiologist - has lost his license to practice medicine. On Wednesday, the Board of Registration in Medicine revoked the license of Dr. Harvey Grant, 78, a surgeon at Mercy Medical Center. Grant also failed to provide medical records to two patients in a timely fashion and failed to keep accurate and current records for many patients, the board said.

The Board of Registration in Medicine has prohibited Dr. Kathaleen Porter, a Natick surgeon, from operating on patients unless she is assisting another doctor and from taking a call or covering for another surgeon. The board, which investigated Porter, 59, for more than two years, decided to permanently restrict her medical license after discovering a “a pattern of practice that calls into question her competence to perform surgery as a primary surgeon,’’ according to board documents.

What do climate change and childhood vaccinations have in common? The scientific consensus supporting action on both fronts is under attack — but from opposite ends of the political spectrum. Over the last two decades, the number of parents who decline to vaccinate their children has skyrocketed. The movement against vaccinations has been fueled by a fraudulent and long-discredited study purporting to link the shots to autism (the study's main author has since lost his medical license)

A psychiatrist arrested in Argentina on charges of falsely billing $1 million in health insurance claims in Hawaii was involved in similar fraud some 30 years ago in Colorado. According to a decision obtained Wednesday that denied Dr. Carlos Warter’s application to practice medicine in Washington state, he misrepresented details about his past. He answered “no’’ to a question on his application asking if he had ever been convicted of a crime. But he had been convicted in 1982 of falsifying reports after he admitted overcharging Colorado $44,500 through Medicare and Medicaid.

LOS ANGELES — A doctor charged in Michael Jackson’s death will keep his California medical license after a judge ruled yesterday that he didn’t have the authority to revoke it. Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor declined a request by California authorities to suspend the ability of Dr. Conrad Murray to practice medicine in the state. Pastor said there were no circumstances that warranted revisiting the conditions of Murray’s bail. California authorities have sought the suspension since Murray was charged with involuntary manslaughter in February.

A surgeon who gave up his Massachusetts medical license and is under investigation in a string of deaths at an Illinois Veterans Affairs hospital has applied for a medical license in North Dakota, that state's medical regulators confirmed yesterday. Dr. Jose Veizaga-Mendez, 69, applied Aug. 1 for a license from the North Dakota State Board of Medical Examiners, said Duane Houdek, the board's executive secretary. The board has taken no action because the Bolivian-trained doctor's application was incomplete, Houdek said.

LOS ANGELES — With Michael Jackson’s mother, father, and three siblings looking on, Dr. Conrad Murray began a slow process toward trial yesterday with the appointment of a judge and the setting of another hearing to handle pending matters in his involuntary manslaughter case. Murray made brief, back-to-back appearances in separate courtrooms. First, Supervising Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza assigned the matter to another judge for all further proceedings. Then, spectators, media, and fans followed Murray to a lower floor, where he appeared before Judge...

Dr. Loren J. Borud,cq a plastic surgeon, and Dr. Abdul Cader Asmal, cqan internist, resigned their medical licenses today, said the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine. Resignation is a disciplinary action. The board had previously suspended Borud's license after he allegedly performed two operations at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in June 2008 while impaired and appeared to fall asleep during a patient's liposuction. One of the patients, Michael K. Hicks of Quincy, eventually sued Borud, saying he suffered pain and complications after...

LOS ANGELES - A judge refused to reinstate the medical license of a fertility doctor who gave Nadya Suleman all 14 of her children, ruling yesterday that the California Medical Board's revocation was the appropriate action. In firmly rejecting Dr. Michael Kamrava's appeal, Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfont told the physician's attorneys the medical board should have been even harsher in its evaluation. The attorneys argued that revoking Kamrava's license was akin to issuing a death sentence to his medical career.

A judge refused to reinstate the medical license of a fertility doctor who gave Octomom Nadya Suleman all 14 of her children, ruling Thursday that the California Medical Board's revocation was the appropriate action. In firmly rejecting Dr. Michael Kamrava's appeal, Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfont told the physician's attorneys the medical board should have been even harsher in its evaluation of Kamrava. "I don't think your client understands what it is to practice medicine and exercise judgment no matter what the patient wants," he told the lawyers.

If convicted, Dr. Conrad Murray faces a sentence ranging from probation to four years in prison in the death of Michael Jackson. Some of the factors related to sentencing: — Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor would have complete discretion to decide the sentence. He would receive a probation department report on Murray recommending a sentence. Both prosecution and defense attorneys also would file recommendations. But the decision would be his and his alone. — The judge could consider that Murray is a defendant with no prior criminal record,...

Jurors hearing the involuntary manslaughter case against Michael Jackson's doctor will not hear directly from the man whose fate they will soon be asked to decide. Instead the panel will have to choose whether to convict or acquit Dr. Conrad Murray of based on the testimony of 49 witnesses and hundreds of pieces of evidence, including one lengthy police interview with the cardiologist. The seven-man, five-woman panel didn't get to hear Murray announce his decision Tuesday, but were rather told by a judge after testimony from a pair of medical experts that there would be no...

LOS ANGELES - Dr. Conrad Murray's use of a cocktail of drugs on Michael Jackson as he struggled to fall asleep on the day he died was a "recipe for disaster" and ultimately caused his death, a UCLA sleep therapy specialist testified yesterday. Dr. Nader Kamanger described Murray's treatment as "unethical, disturbing, and beyond comprehension. " Under questioning by Murray's lawyer, J. Michael Flanagan, the witness was asked to tell jurors what he knew about the events of June 25, 2009, the day of Jackson's death.

If convicted, Dr. Conrad Murray faces a sentence ranging from probation to four years in prison in the death of Michael Jackson. Some of the factors related to sentencing: — Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor would have complete discretion to decide the sentence. He would receive a probation department report on Murray recommending a sentence. Both prosecution and defense attorneys also would file recommendations. But the decision would be his and his alone. — The judge could consider that Murray is a defendant with no prior criminal record, a circumstance that might mitigate in...

TRENTON, N.J. - A doctor health officials suspect was the source of a hepatitis B outbreak had his medical license suspended indefinitely yesterday by New Jersey regulators. Nearly 3,000 of Dr. Parvez Dara's patients have been warned to get tested after five cancer patients tested positive for the disease, which is transmitted through exposure to infected blood and can cause serious liver damage. The state is still investigating the outbreak. Members of the state Board of Medical Examiners decided to temporarily suspend the Ocean County oncologist's license on an emergency basis on...

The Board of Registration in Medicine has prohibited Dr. Kathaleen Porter, a Natick surgeon, from operating on patients unless she is assisting another doctor and from taking a call or covering for another surgeon. The board, which investigated Porter, 59, for more than two years, decided to permanently restrict her medical license after discovering a “a pattern of practice that calls into question her competence to perform surgery as a primary surgeon,’’ according to board documents.

A psychiatrist arrested in Argentina on charges of falsely billing $1 million in health insurance claims in Hawaii was involved in similar fraud some 30 years ago in Colorado. According to a decision obtained Wednesday that denied Dr. Carlos Warter’s application to practice medicine in Washington state, he misrepresented details about his past. He answered “no’’ to a question on his application asking if he had ever been convicted of a crime. But he had been convicted in 1982 of falsifying reports after he admitted overcharging Colorado $44,500...