Stealing a medical license: Maryland style

Stealing a medical license: Maryland style

 

Physicians licensed in Maryland are subjected to the whims of a medical board that is politically appointed and run end to end by attorneys. Colleagues in other states are in disbelief when they learn that a lawyer not a physician is the executive director of this entity. They are even more perplexed that lawyers manage the compliance division and other sections of this administrative authority. Most astounding to them is 8 out of 21 members of this authority are “not” physicians. Maryland Board of Physicians was established to have special expertise in the medical domain. Yet its present construction is far from that initial format. Physicians no longer have to commit a medical mistake or series of them to be charged with an offense under the Medical Practices Act. Physicians can have their licenses revoked based on hearsay, false evidence against them, junk science, fallacious expert medical record reviews or sundry actions that do not pass the sniff test. An assault against Mark Davis MD exemplifies the depths this board would take to have his licensed pulled. In June of 2002 a subpoena for medical records arrived at this physician’s office. Four months later a note arrives from an “unknown reviewer” asking him to make several changes in his practice style. Since all procedures and paper formats had previously been approved by the authority sending the letter this physician questioned the unknown reviewer why the changes should be done when they were not justified. No answer came forth. One month later this Physician was invited to a clinical meeting with three other physicians, none of whom were initiated in the specific practice type of this author. This unfriendly encounter was further deprecated by the three member panel failing to be given documents sent to them by this physician.  The perpetrator of that act was none other than the lawyer who headed the compliance division. Forty eight months from the day of the subpoena a charging document that should have never have been drawn had the name of Ira Kaplan MD and a 2^nd physician written across the title page. Dr. Kaplan, who is protected by peer review regulatory laws, was chosen as an expert medical record reviewer when he had no expertise in the specific subject contained in the charges. Though the board had forty months to prepare a case, this physician was given 3.5 months with two intervening holidays to prepare his case. The medical board through its Attorney General’s representative had no intention of allowing the truth to come forth. He used every legal trick at his disposal to block defendant witnesses from testifying, defendant legal briefs to be entered as evidence and other exculpatory documents from being brought before this administrative review. Worse he obstructed the testimony of a physician who worked for the medical board and enthusiastically wanted to testify on this author’s behalf. This Soviet style review had all its elements in favor of the Board of Physicians yet the administrative judge still found in the most part for this physician. He went so far as disregarding the testimony and report of one of the state appointed physicians and submerged most of the 2^nd physicians report and testimony. The Board in a very vindictive and baseless manner reversed the court’s findings even though they had not heard the case which involved over four days of hearings before a reviewing judge who they requested. The judicial system treats physicians like dirt, especially the Appellate division. These courts are very friendly to Maryland administrative authorities because they are paid by the same pocket. A recent article entitled “Maryland Board of Physicians: corruption or business as usual” provides more details of the events at the Appellate level. You might as well be in China or Russia because Maryland does not believe in justice. This State only knows how to take money from the worker and hand it to the deadbeat. Maryland’s Attorney General’s Office debased itself in this case to bring this false action to fruition.  Members of the Board of Physicians knew or should have known the case involving Mark Davis MD was a fraudulent conception from end to end. The Maryland Legislature for the second time has fallen asleep at the wheel when profound fraud is being perpetrated directly under their proverbial noses. To right this wrong the Board should reverse their decision, not follow the Harford Court mandate that they pushed for and apologize to the thousands of patients they have screwed for the second time in four years. In the event any of the media has the cojones to discuss this interesting and vindictive assault on this physician please contact me. To my thousands of patients thank you for your support. platmd@gmail.com Mark Davis MD, President of Healthnets Review Services