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Consumer Health Digest #24-38
September 22, 2024
Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by William M. London, Ed.D., M.P.H.
http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/william-m-london, with help from Stephen Barrett, M.D
http://www.quackwatch.org/10Bio/bio.html., It summarizes scientific reports; legislative developments; enforcement actions; other news items; Web site evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended books; research tips; and other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer decision-making. The Digest’s primary focus is on health, but occasionally it includes non-health scams and practical tips. Items posted to this archive may be updated when relevant information becomes available. To subscribe, click here
http://lists.quackwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/chd_lists.quackwatch.org.
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New Jersey revokes license of dangerous “cosmetic surgeon”The New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners has permanently revoked the license of Muhammad A. Mirza, M.D., who is alleged to have traveled to dozens of offices in New Jersey and neighboring states to perform questionable surgical procedures. Mirza was a board-certified internist who had not practiced medicine in New Jersey since his license was temporarily suspended in 2021 amid allegations his surgical practices posed a clear and imminent danger to the public. At that time, the board concluded he lacked a knowledge base in his specialty, improperly stored supplies, did not keep adequate patient records, and used substandard office settings.
The State alleged Mirza grossly deviated from accepted standards of medicine with conduct that included the off-label use of certain dermal fillers to perform penile injections that allegedly caused permanent physical harm. He is also said to have injected them near patients’ eyes that, when done incorrectly, could lead to permanent blindness, and injected filler into patients’ breasts, which can obfuscate patients’ mammogram results.
Mirza advertised and performed a variety of costly and invasive cosmetic enhancement services through the “Mirza Aesthetics” practice he operated primarily from rental spaces in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Traveling from office to office carrying medical products in duffle bags, Mirza allegedly saw up to 30 patients daily in makeshift spaces where he failed to observe proper protocols for medical recordkeeping, patient follow-ups, and storage of medical supplies—including products that required refrigeration and strict temperature control. In 2021, the medical board opened an investigation after receiving complaints that Mirza:
had used high-pressure sales tactics
had failed to wear a mask or medical surgical gloves while performing procedures
would not disclose what products he was using or show the product’s packaging
caused physical complications such as lumps and seizures
failed to respond to post-procedure complaints and/or requests for records
performed aesthetic procedures in an area described as a “small storage closet” and “closet area with a bench.”
Investigation of one of his offices revealed, among other things:
the office consisted of one large room with a curtain used as a divider between the waiting room/receptionist area and the patient examination/treatment area
the examination/treatment area had only chairs and a fold-away table, with no medical examination table
Mirza’s supply of injectable fillers was stored in “duffle bags,” with no medical storage refrigerators observed on the premises
In a Verified Complaint and Order to Show Cause filed with the Board on September 30, 2021, the State sought to revoke Mirza’s license on the grounds his actions showed evidence of fraud, deception, and dishonesty; gross negligence that endangered the life, health, welfare, and safety of a person; repeated acts of professional misconduct; and other violations of professional standards. Mirza denied the allegations but in October, 2021, signed an Interim Consent Order
https://centerforinquiry.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2024/09/25175837/interim_order_2021.pdf agreeing to the temporary suspension of his license pending further action by the Board.
In August 2022, at Mirza’s request, the matter was stayed pending the resolution of criminal charges that alleged involvement in a multimillion-dollar healthcare fraud. In May 2024, the State filed an Amended Verified Complaint after Mirza pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. As part of this scheme, Mirza submitted fraudulent claims to health-benefit plans for services not rendered or medically necessary. As part of his guilty plea, Mirza was sentenced to 26 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $1,371,544.
Under the terms of the Final Consent Order
https://centerforinquiry.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2024/09/25195113/final_consent_order.pdf, Mirza’s medical license is revoked, he is prohibited from seeking a medical license in New Jersey in the future, and continues to be barred from any form of patient contact, and from charging, receiving, or sharing in any fee for professional services rendered by others. The Order also requires him to divest himself from any current and future financial interest in or benefit derived from the practice of medicine in New Jersey, including the provision of healthcare activities taking place at his former New Jersey medical offices, or anywhere else in the state. He is also barred from managing, overseeing, supervising, or influencing the practice of medicine or provision of healthcare activities, including by testifying as an expert witness or serving as an expert consultant in New Jersey.
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Registration of “environmental naturopath” suspendedFollowing a misconduct hearing, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) in England suspended the registration of Dr. Jean Monro indefinitely, pending an appeal.
[McMenemy R. Doctor who put children ‘at risk’ struck off
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr7rpygp092o. BBC News, Hertfordshire, Sept 3, 2024]
The MPTS described Monro’s treatment of two children as “flawed,” “unconventional,” and “reckless.” Monro practiced medicine for many years as a specialist in “environmental medicine.” She retired in 2021 but continued to practice what she called “environmental naturopathy
https://www.breakspearmedical.com/staff-member/jean-monro/” at a private clinic. In 2023, Monro had been suspended for 12 months for misconduct in the boy’s case.
[Dyer C. Doctor who referred boy for experimental probe and unnecessary treatment is suspended for 12 months
https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj.p1115.full. BMJ 381:1115, May 16, 2023]
. Her dubious practices included:
suggesting a six-year-old boy wear an oxygen mask for up to four hours a day
recommending the prescription of an unlicensed drug for a five-year-old girl
failing in “history taking, examination, diagnosis, investigation, record keeping, prescribing and consent” in relation to the five-year-old girl, who was suspected of inhaling mold
using a questionable urine test to diagnose a high level of mold toxin
This year, the Tribunal concluded:
There had been overlapping and multiple breaches of GMP
[good medical practice]
in relation to vulnerable patients. Moreover, this Tribunal has no evidence either that Dr. Monro recognizes this, or that she has developed insight into the seriousness of her misconduct or the potential risk of harm to patients. This Tribunal therefore concluded that there is a real concern that Dr. Monro showed a reckless disregard for the principles in GMP.
[MPTS Public Record: Dr. Jean Monro
https://www.mpts-uk.org/hearings-and-decisions/medical-practitioners-tribunals/dr-jean-monro--may-24, Aug 2024]
In 2012, Monro was formally warned by the British General Medical Council after her fitness to practice was found to be “on the cusp of a finding of impairment.” Monro was found guilty of misconduct for practicing beyond her competence and giving a patient inappropriate and potentially harmful chelation therapy for lead poisoning on the basis of a diagnosis that involved “inappropriate and ineffective” tests.
[Controversial allergy doctor is given formal warning by GMC
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/224847187_Controversial_allergy_doctor_is_given_formal_warning_by_GMC. BMJ 344(apr25 1)e2993, 2012]
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Stephen Barrett, M.D. m,
Consumer Advocate
7 Birchtree Circle
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
Telephone: (919) 533-6009
http://www.quackwatch.org (health fraud and quackery)
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