Imagine undergoing a colonoscopy, only for something to go wrong and the doctor simply not know that you’re in pain. That’s exactly what happened to one patient in Tampa, Florida, recently – and the doctor responsible for not listening to their patience scream in pain is reportedly on probation.
Dr Ishwari Prasad, a doctor with 34 years of licensed work under his belt, was placed on probation by Florida’s Board of Medicine following reports that he failed to wear a hearing aid during a session with a patient. The elderly doctor is accused of committing medical malpractice after failing to properly communicate with members of his team and patients because he refused to wear hearing aids. The refusal to wear the aids meant that the doctor was not only incapable of properly understanding members of his team, but also put his patients at risk.
According to a complaint filed on October 10, 2023, the doctor didn’t realize that the patient was not yet properly sedated and began to insert the scope. As the patient began to scream in pain, the doctor didn’t realize, and continued to insert the scope. The complaint, which is nine-pages long, argues that the doctor failed to meet the minimum standard of care to his patients. The complaint also describes how the surgical team was on multiple occasions “unable to effectively communicate” with the doctor.
In another incident, according to the complaint, the doctor even instructed somebody without a medical license to take over parts of the surgery. Had the individual followed his instructions, it would have been a breach of the law. The complaint described how a surgical tech was asked to not only insert the scope, but to manipulate it and “remove polyps” – something only doctors and medical professionals with medical licenses should be able to do.
Now under probation, Dr. Prasad is unable to perform gastroenterological procedures without the presence of a supervisor. He was also ordered to pay a fine of $7,500 and a further $6,301 in administrative fees.
