The Texas Medical Board disciplined five doctors from the Houston area at its October 2021 meeting. A total of 16 licensed from around the state had actions taken against them by the medical board during the meeting.
According to a press release from the medical board, “The disciplinary actions included: two orders related to quality of care violations, four orders related to unprofessional conduct, three voluntary surrenders/revocations, one suspension, one order related to nontherapeutic prescribing, one order related to other states’ actions, and four orders related to inadequate medical records. The Board also ratified two cease and desist orders.
The board’s press released added, “The Board issued 197 physician licenses at the October meeting, bringing the total number of physician licenses issued in Fiscal Year 2022 to 733.”
Here are the doctors who had disciplinary action taken against them by the medical board:
Dr. Andrew L. Doe
Dr. Andrew Doe, of Houston, was found to have failed to meet the standard of care in pre-operative and post-operative documentation after he performed a “wrong level kyphoplasty procedure that required an emergency laminectomy.” Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive surgery to treat a spinal compression fracture, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. A laminectomy is a procedure where the surgeon removes part or all of the vertebral bone, according to Johns Hopkins.
Doe entered into an agreed order with the Texas Medical Board and was publicly reprimanded. Doe was also ordered to schedule an assessment with the Texas A&M Health Science Center Knowledge, Skills, Training, Assessment, and Research (KSTAR) program within six months and to “have his practice monitored by another physician for eight consecutive monitoring cycles,” according to the medical board.
Doe is also required to “within one year and three attempts pass the Medical Jurisprudence Exam; and within one year complete at least 24 hours of CME, divided as follows: eight hours in medical recordkeeping, eight hours in ethics and eight hours in risk management.”
Dr. Azim Amin Karim
Dr. Azim Amin Karim, of Houston, was found to have self-prescribed medications, including controlled substances and benzodiazepines and did not maintain any medical records for his self-prescribing, according to the Texas Medical Board. He was also found to have submitted a false statement to the medical board and didn’t secure access to prescriptions, which allowed individuals to issue fraudulent prescriptions under his DEA number, the board said in its press release.
Karim entered into an agreed order to pass the Medical Jurisprudence Exam within one year and three attempts and has to complete at least 16 hours of continuing medical education, divided into eight hours in risk management and eight hours in prescribing controlled substances. Karim was also required to pay an administrative penalty of $3,000 within 30 days.
Dr. Gregory Todd Seymour
Dr. Gregory Todd Seymour, of Tomball, was found to have self-prescribed controlled substances and did not comply with the Texas Physician Health Program and the Texas Medical Board’s interim monitoring agreements by missing several screens and testing positive for alcohol, according to the board’s press release.
The agreed order with the medical board entered into by Seymour requires him to abstain from the consumption of prohibited substances for two years and he “shall not seek primary care from any practice partner or colleague.” He is also required within 30 days to “s obtain a pre-approved rheumatologist, psychiatrist and psychotherapist, and follow all recommendations for care and treatment from these providers; within 30 days obtain a pre-approved physician worksite monitor and be monitored for a period of two years; shall not treat or otherwise serve as a physician for his immediate family or prescribe, dispense, administer or authorize controlled substances or addictive drugs to himself or his immediate family.”
Seymour also agreed to participate in Alcoholics Anonymous no less than once a week, and to, “; within one year and three attempts pass the Medical Jurisprudence Exam; and within one year complete at least 20 hours of CME, divided as follows: eight hours in medical recordkeeping, eight hours in the prescribing of controlled substances and four hours in ethics.”
Dr. Michael Wesley Holmes
Dr. Michael Wesley Holmes, of Beaumont, who previously had his physician’s license temporarily suspended by the Texas Medical Board, was found to have “s nontherapeutically prescribed and failed to adhere to established guidelines and requirements for the treatment of pain, and failed to meet the standard of care in his treatment for the patient based on his lack of due diligence.”
Holmes is required to “within one year complete at least 16 hours of CME, divided as follows: eight hours in risk management, four hours in prescribing controlled substances and four hours in medical recordkeeping; and within one year and three attempts pass the Medical Jurisprudence Exam.”
Elizabeth Cook
Elizabeth Cook, a doctor of chiropractic, from Spring, entered into an agreed cease and desist order that prohibits her from practicing medicine in the state of Texas without a license issued by the Texas Medical Board. Cook is prohibited from acting as or holding herself out to be a licensed physician in Texas.
The board said Cook, a licensed chiropractor, “is listed as a registered agent and Medical Director for a limited liability company, a wellness clinic, which advertises services that include treatments for hormone imbalance, thyroid disorders, weight loss, and autoimmune disease. There is no contract or other agreement that defines Ms. Cook’s scope of practice as it relates to the wellness clinic she is associated with.”
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5 Houston-Area Doctors Disciplined by Texas Medical Board