Letter from UAPD President Regarding El Sabaawi
Dear Colleague,
In July UAPD filed a complaint with the Medical Board of California.
We called for an investigation of Mohamed El-Sabaawi, the Court
appointed monitor at the Department of Mental Health (DMH). According
to the Medical Board''s own records, El-Sabaawi's California medical
license expired on February 28, 2009. UAPD was concerned that
El-Sabaawi could be practicing medicine without a license within the
DMH.
The Medical Board has declined to take further action in this case
because, as it states in a letter to UAPD,"...neither the Consent
Judgment nor the Court directed that the Court Monitor engage in the
practice of medicine or that he/she holds a California medical
license. The Board clarified that "Mr." El-Sabaawi is prohibited from
performing "diagnosis, treatment, or medical care of any persons in
the state hospitals."
Though halting their investigation of Mr. El-Sabaawi, in a certain
sense the Board has done DMH doctors a service. They have clearly
defined the limits of El-Sabaawi's power. Business and Professions
Code Section 2052 restricts the practice of medicine to those with
valid licenses. Section 2400 puts limits on corporations and similar
entities, to prevent unlicensed persons working within them from
interfering with a physician's professional judgment. From the
Medical Board's perspective, the following health care decisions
should be made by a physician licensed in the State of California and
would constitute the unlicensed practice of medicine if performed by
an unlicensed person like El-Sabaawi:
• Determining what diagnostic tests are appropriate for a particular condition.
• Determining the need for referrals to or consultation with another
physician or specialist.
• Determining the ultimate overall care of the patient, including the
treatment options available
• Determining how many patients a physician must see in a given period
of time or how many hours a physician must work.
In addition, the following "business” or "management" practices, all
of which result in control over the physician's practice of medicine,
should be made by a licensed California physician, and not by an
unlicensed person or entity.
• Owning and controlling a patient's medical records, including
determining the contents thereof.
• Hiring and firing of physicians, allied health staff and medical
assistants, as the decision relates to clinical competency or
proficiency.
• Setting the parameters under which the physician enters into
contractual relationships with third party payers.
• Making decisions regarding coding and billing procedures for patient
care services.
• Approving of the selection of medical equipment and medical supplies
for the medical practice.
It is now incumbent on all of us to hold Mr. El-Sabaawi to these
standards, and to come forward if we have examples of him practicing
medicine without a license in the course of his work. If we get
enough of this evidence UAPD will pursue the reopening of this case.
In solidarity,
Stuart Bussey, MD, JD
UAPD President