(914) 220-1086The New York Medical Board is slow to punish doctors who lose their license to practice in other states. According to The New York Post, the state licensing board for doctors took between “a few weeks to several months” to stop 14 doctors who had lost their ability to practice medicine in New Jersey over the last six months. Perhaps even more worrisome, the local newspaper found that two of those doctors were still practicing medicine despite being deemed unfit to practice just across the river. New Jersey did not perform much better at ensuring potentially dangerous doctors stayed away from the state’s patients – five doctors with their New York licenses suspended in the last six months were still practicing in the state.
Perhaps overstating the obvious, Patient-safety advocate Betsy McCaughey told The Post that licensing board’s slow movement on incompetent doctors “could lead to unnecessary additional harm to patients.” The founder of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths then harped on the unnecessary risk to patients by stating “all you have to do is send an email.” McCaughey correctly notes that the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners receives a daily alert for doctors whose license has been suspended or permanently revoked. With this information delivered each day, it is not unreasonable to expect a prompt investigation.
The New York Post notes that the list of disgraced New Jersey doctors who continue to practice in New York includes Dr. Anindita Nandi, whose license was revoked because she was so unstable that continuing to allow her to see patients presented “a clear and imminent danger to the public.” According to the newspaper, Nandi was reported by both a patient, who said the doctor went on a bizarre rant concerning the “rules of practice,” and a fellow colleague who said she “appeared to be ignoring reality.” Nandi had even been on a state psychiatric watchlist after being hospitalized multiple times for her psychiatric disorders.
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