A Florida doctor faces disciplinary action after state officials say his failure to wear hearing aids during a colonoscopy caused a patient to scream in pain.
According to an administrative complaint from the Florida Department of Health,reviewed by USA TODAY, gastroenterologist Dr. Ishwari Prasad was placed on probation by the state's Board of Medicine after two colonoscopy procedures resulted in complications under his care.
In June 2023, at the Tampa Ambulatory Surgery Center, an incident took place where Prasad inappropriately delegated tasks to a surgical technician, as outlined in the complaint. The technician, who lacked a medical license, was instructed by Prasad to carry out at least one inappropriate task, such as scope insertion, scope manipulation, manipulating an instrument over polyps or tissue, or removing polyps or tissue.
"However, Prasad was not wearing the hearing aids for at least one, if not both, of the procedures detailed in the complaint. This rendered the surgical team "unable to communicate" with him, according to the complaint effectively. Prasad did not immediately return USA TODAY's request for comment on Friday."
Prasad performed the second colonoscopy on a patient who was not fully sedated. According to the complaint, he started inserting the scope prematurely, causing the patient to yell during the procedure.
The complaint asserts that Prasad neglected to promptly halt the procedure when it became evident that the patient was not fully sedated and failed to realize this due to an inability to hear the patient's distress. Furthermore, the complaint alleges that tasks were inappropriately delegated to a non-licensed technician during the procedure.
The Miami Herald reported that an emergency restriction order from September provided more details on the second procedure, indicating that the sedation issue originally arose due to a problem with the patient's IV line
According to the Herald, the order said that Prasad "continued to insert the scope despite being told to wait and began to thrust the scope into (the patient’s) rectum while (the patient) shouted in pain."
The order told that the patient began to yell because of the pain and could feel everything but Dr. Prasad continued to move the scope while the patient screams
The news outlet also reported that a hospital administrator was present in the room and told Prasad he needed to wait. The gastroenterologist then leaned over the patient and shouted "I know!" to the administrator, yet continued to manipulate the scope.
Prasad, licensed to practice in Florida since 1990, has been placed on probation due to complaints. In addition to a $7,500 fine, he must pay an extra $6,301 in case costs. He is required to complete a five-hour course on continuing medical education in laws, rules, and ethics by the deadline of August 7, 2025.
Prasad's probation means he cannot do any procedures alone until he passes an evaluation for competency by one of the designated programs or completes 10 gastroenterology procedures under a supervising physician. The supervising physician will then make a recommendation to the probation committee.
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