Doctors have a lot of responsibilities, particularly when they are dealing with the workers compensation board in any state. Not only do they have a responsibility to adequately treat their patients, but they must also properly assess a patient’s medical condition, keep proper documentation, and order tests in a timely and adequate manner. If they do not, they can have their authority as a doctor revoked, as one physician in New York recently found out.
The physician’s name is Dr. Rajendrakumar Patel and the New York Workers Compensation Board accused him of many wrongdoings. According to the Board, Dr. Patel did not maintain proper records of many patients to properly reflect the assessment and treatment the patient received. He also did not properly assess medical history or the symptoms his patients were displaying.
In addition to this, Dr. Patel did not order proper tests or consults, and he also did not properly monitor blood gases and electrolytes. Lastly, he did not document whether or not patients were also seeing a psychiatrist, something that should be recorded in a patient’s records.
Dr. Patel admitted he was guilty of the Board’s findings and as such, was stripped of his authorization to treat injured workers within New York’s Workers Compensation system. He has also been placed on a probation period of 36 months and cannot practice medicine unless he is being overseen by another licensed physician.
“It shows just how important every aspect of a doctor’s job is,” says Albany medical malpractice lawyer John Fisher of John H. Fisher, P.C., “Patients have a right to know that when they see a doctor, they will not only get the necessary treatment, but that the doctor will also properly adhere to all other guidelines as well. When they fail to do so, it can put the patient at further risk.”
The doctors the Workers Compensation Board uses within their system is taken very seriously. Doctors must first apply to be part of the system and then must follow strict guidelines while operating within it. When they do not, as Dr. Patel has recently found out, it can not only affect their place in the system, but their entire career.
