Texas Medical Board Disciplines 8 Houston-Area Doctors

Getty The Texas Medical Board disciplined these Houston area doctors.

Eight Houston-area doctors were among 27 medical providers disciplined by the Texas Medical Board at its most recent meeting, according to a September 2021 press release.

Here are the doctors who had disciplinary action taken against them by the medical board:

Dr. Yassir Ahmed Sonbol, Sugar Land

Dr. Yassir Ahmed Sonbol, 45, of Sugar Land, Texas, entered an agreed order with the medical board on August 20, 2021, that requires him to complete at least 20 hours of continuing medical education. That education, known as CME, will be spread out over, ” eight hours in medical recordkeeping, four hours in risk management and eight hours in cardiac testing,” according to the press release.

“The Board found Dr. Sonbol saw a patient for one incident of chest pain but did not document an adequate history of the patient’s complaint or order repeat testing,” the Texas Medical Board said. Sonbol has had a physician license since 2011, according to the board’s database. It is set to expire in 2022.

According to the agreed order, Sonbol, “did not order additional testing for the patient after a poor-quality nuclear stress test and did not communicate to the patient that he should have follow-up testing sooner than the scheduled one-month office visit.” Sonbol’s patient suffered cardiac arrest and died two months later, the board said.

Sonbol, “was remorseful and stated that he has made changes to his medical recordkeeping and upgraded his electronic medical record (EMR). In the event of a questionable study, respondent states that he will bring the patient in sooner for additional testing,” the board said.

Sonbol, a Minnesota native who is also licensed there, has practiced medicine in Texas for seven years and for 11 years overall. His primary practice is located in Sugar Land. His specialties are cardiovascular diseases and interventional cardiology and he has specialty certification in both.

He graduated from the Indiana University School of Medicine in 2001 and was an intern and resident in internal medicine at the University of Minnesota. He was also chief resident at the University of Minnesota from 2004 to 2005 and had a cardiology fellowship there from 2005 to 2009. Sonbol has hospital privileges at Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, St. Luke’s Sugar Land, Memorial Hermann Sugar Land, Kindred Sugar Land, Health South Rehab Sugar Land and Memorial Hermann SW in Houston, according to the medical board.

Sonbol has self-reported criminal offenses for DUI in 2007 and driving after a license revocation in 2006, according to the medical board. The Minnesota medical board required him to “meet with health professional physicians services for assessment after DUI conviction. Result of meeting showed I was not dependent and did not need monitoring,” according to information he self-reported to the Texas medical board.

Dr. Bernadette Uche Iguh, Houston

Dr. Bernadette Uche Iguh, of Houston, had her medical license revoked on August 20, 2021, after entering into an agreed order with the medical board, but the revocation was stayed and she was placed under probation for three years. The terms of the probation are, “comply with all terms of the Judgement entered on or around March 5, 2021; limit her medical practice to a group setting approved in advance; have her billing practice monitored for four consecutive monitoring cycles; within one year complete at least 12 hours of CME, divided as follows: eight hours in ethics and four hours in billing; and shall not be permitted to supervise or delegate prescriptive authority to a physician assistant or advanced practice nurse or supervise a surgical assistant.”

According to the press release, “The Board found that on March 5, 2021, the Court entered a Judgement based on Dr. Iguh’s plea of guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and her subsequent cooperation with federal investigators sentencing her to time served, 15 months of supervised release, and to pay restitution. The order supersedes all prior orders entered by the Board.”

Iguh, 60, whose primary practice is in Houston, has been a doctor in Texas for 15 years. She was born in Nigeria and graduated from the Ross University School of Medicine in Barbados in 2005. She has had her physician license since 2008 and it is set to expire in 2022. Her specialty is in family medicine and family practice. Igu has hospital privileges at the West Houston Medical Center.

Iguh was arrested in February 2017 and pleaded guilty in October 2017. The Texas Medical Board’s staff filed to have her medical license suspended in July 2020 because of her conviction. She remained in practice between August 2020 and August 2021, when the medical board ruled on her case and “has had no compliance issues.” The board said she cooperated with the prosecution, self-reported the criminal case to the board and has “rehabilitative potential.”

Dr. Khanh Quoc Nguyen, Houston

Dr. Khanh Quoc Nguyen of Houston, entered into an agreed order on August 20, 2021, to voluntarily surrender his Texas medical license in lieu of further disciplinary proceedings, according to the press release.

“The Board found Dr. Nguyen voluntarily surrendered his medical license to the Medical Board of California on or about December 10, 2020, due to unprofessional conduct and/or repeated negligent acts on two patients,” the press release stated.

Nguyen received his physician license in Texas in 1979. He was born in Vietnam and studied at the University of Saigon, according to the medical board. He completed his residency at a family practice in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1981. His primary practice had been in Houston. He specialized in family medicine and pain management/rehab, the board says.

Dr. Hussamaddin Al-Khadour, Houston

Dr. Hussamaddin Al-Khadour, of Houston, agreed to have his medical license suspended, but the suspension was stayed and he was placed on probation for 18 months. The terms of the probation, according to the release, are, “within seven days request modification of his DEA controlled substances registration certificate to eliminate Schedule II and shall not reregister without prior Board approval; have his practice monitored by another physician for 12 consecutive months; within one year complete the prescribing course offered by the University of California San Diego Physician Assessment and Clinical Education (PACE) program; within one year and three attempts pass the Medical Jurisprudence Exam; within one year complete at least eight hours of CME, divided as follows: four hours in ethics and four hours in risk management; and shall not be permitted to supervise or delegate prescriptive authority to physician assistants and advanced practice nurses or supervise surgical assistants.”

The press release added, “The Board found Dr. AlKhadour failed to meet the standard of care, nontherapeutically prescribed, failed to adhere to the established guidelines and requirements for the treatment of pain for 12 patients, and operated an unregistered pain management clinic. Dr. Al-Khadour also displayed unprofessional conduct when he pled guilty to possession of a controlled substance by his ordering of testosterone cyprionate for office use under his clinic name.”

Al-Khadour, 51, received his physician license in Texas in 2001 and it is set to expire in 2023. He graduated from Damascus University in 1993. He specializes in internal medicine and his primary practice is in Houston. He has hospital privileges at Woodland Speciality Hospital in Spring, Texas.

According to the agreed order, Al-Khadour “operated a pill mill and/or an unregistered pain management clinic.” He faced two felony drug charges in Montgomery County, Texas, and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. According to the order, Al-Khadour “inappropriately pre-signed blank prescription pads.”

Dr. Lauren Michelle Rosin, Houston

Dr. Lauren Michelle Rosin, of Houston entered into an agreement with the medical board requiring her practice be monitored by another physician for 12 consecutive monitoring cycles. SHe is also required to, “within one year complete the prescribing course offered by the University of California San Diego Physician Assessment and Clinical Education (PACE) program; within one year complete at least 16 hours of CME, divided as follows: eight hours in ethics and eight hours in medical recordkeeping; and within 60 days pay an administrative fee of $3,000.”

According to the press release, “The Board found Dr. Rosin failed to meet the standard of care by inappropriately prescribing Trinaz when there was no indication for use and failed to establish a proper physician-patient relationship as required Board Rule 174 standards for the provision of Telemedicine Medical Services.”

Rosin has had her physician license in Texas since 2018 and it is set to expire in 2023. She graduated from the McGovern Medical School at The University Of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Her primary specialty is pediatric internal medicine. She completed her residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of Texas at Houston in 2018.

Dr. Geoffrey Allen Groff, Houston

Dr. Geoffrey Allen Groff, of Houston, entered into an agreed order, “requiring him to within one year complete the prescribing course offered by the University of California San Diego Physician Assessment and Clinical Education (PACE) program; and for a period of one year obtain treatment from a Board-approved therapist and follow recommendations made for care and treatment.”

According to the press release, “The Board found Dr. Groff self-reported that he had surrendered his DEA controlled substances registration certificates. Dr. Groff had been prescribing dangerous drugs and controlled substances including hydrocodone, beyond immediate medical need to three family members without documenting his care or conducting proper histories, examinations or monitoring.”

Groff, 65, has had his physician license in Texas since 1996 and it is set to expire in 2022. He was born in Canada and went to medical school in Mexico and has his primary practice in Houston. His specialty is in family medicine. He has hospital privileges at Memorial Hermann Memorial City and Methodist West Houston.

Dr. George Givens Miller, Webster

Dr. George Givens Miller, of Webster, Texas, entered into an agreement to be publicly reprimanded by the medical board. He is required to “within one year and three attempts pass the Medical Jurisprudence Exam; within one year complete the medical recordkeeping course offered by the University of California San Diego Physician Assessment and Clinical Education (PACE) program; within one year complete at least 16 hours of CME, divided as follows: eight hours in ethics and eight hours in informed consent; within 30 days submit to the Board for review and approval all consent forms for complementary and alternative medicine, including stem cell treatment; and within six months pay an administrative penalty of $6,000.”

According to the press release, “The Board found Dr. Miller aided and abetted a chiropractor in the unlicensed practice of medicine who advertised and offered ‘stem cell’ injections to patients, failed to obtain informed consent from the patients, and failed to prescribe or administer the allograft products to the patients in conformity with Board Rule 200.”

Miller, 62, has had his physician license since 1985 and it is set to expire in 1985. He graduated from the McGovern Medical School at The University Of Texas Health Science Center in Houston in 1984. The Texas native has specialties in cardiovascular disease and internal medicine and has hospital privileges at Sugar Land Rehabilitation Hospital and Woodlands Specialty Hospital.

Elie Hanna Hajjar, Houston

Elie Hanna Hajjar, of Houston, who does not have a medical license in Texas, admitted in an agreed cease and desist order on August 20, 2021, that he is prohibited from practicing medicine in Texas without a license issued by the Texas Medical Board.

The medical board’s press release states, “Mr. Hajjar is prohibited from acting as, or holding himself out to be, a licensed physician in the state of Texas. The Board found Mr. Hajjar was employed by Hillcroft Physicians where he posed as a licensed medical professional and examined, diagnosed, treated, referred, and prescribed drugs for patients and maintained patient medical records. On February 23, 2021, Mr. Hajjar was indicted and charged with one count of Conspiracy to Commit Healthcare Fraud and four counts of making false statements related to health care matters.”

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, Hajjar was one of four people charged in a $32 million health care fraud scheme in March 2021.