Auburn doctor Masoud Mohammadi guilty of professional misconduct
A western Sydney GP has been found guilty of overprescribing addictive narcotics and conceded he was too soft on patients seeking painkillers for non-therapeutic reasons.
Parramatta
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Former Auburn Medical Health Centre doctor Masoud Mohammadi has been found guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct for prescribing opioids in excessive amounts and failing to pick up on signs from patients showing drug addictive behaviour – making their risk of death high.
The Health Care Complaints Commission prosecuted a complaint against Dr Mohammadi before the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which also found he had failed to assess patients properly and make adequate referrals for a number of patients in need of specialist care between October 2013 and July 2017.
Dr Mohammadi, who started his 30-year career in Iran, conceded he hadn’t completed courses on addictive drugs such as fentanyl and only began prescribing it when he was the sole doctor at the medical centre in 2013.
The risk of drug dependence for people using fentanyl patches is high.
Dr Mohammadi’s prescribing of fentanyl patches raised concerns with the Pharmaceutical Regulatory Unit in 2015.
The tribunal found Dr Mohammadi failed to understand how strong fentanyl was compared with morphine and started some patients on the highest dose of the drug.
He didn’t question the patient if they told him they were already prescribed fentanyl and continued it, believing he was helping them. For patients who weren’t receiving fentanyl doses, Dr Mohammadi switched them to it as he believed it was safer than oral medication.
“ … He realises now that it was a mistake to start any patient on a dose of 100mcg/hr,’’ the tribunal found.
“When questioned about the possible harms of commencing a patient on the highest dose of fentanyl, Dr Mohammadi understood that it could suppress breathing and lead to unconsciousness and death.’’
He conceded he oversupplied fentanyl to one patient for 64 days and he failed to refer 11 drug-dependent patients, who he didn’t realise were on a methadone program, to an addiction specialist. He consulted one patient 50 times over nearly two years but did not refer them to a specialist.
“He now acknowledges that he had no experience in treating drug addicted patients and says he is sorry he did not refer these patients to an addiction specialist,’’ the tribunal found.
Dr Mohammadi also prescribed fentanyl to three patients for non-therapeutic reasons, including the equivalent of 18 individual patches to a patient who told him he was travelling to Brisbane to visit relatives.
“He agreed that he had been ‘too soft’ with this patient,” the tribunal stated.
He also oversupplied the drug fentanyl to three patients.
“The potential for abuse and harm, including death, was high,’’ the tribunal ruled.
Other patients which showed drug-seeking behaviour used excuses such as “robbery”, overseas travel and claims of expired fentanyl to get more of the drugs.
Dr Mohammadi failed to assess a dozen patients, by conducting urine screening and pathology tests, before prescribing fentanyl. Five of those patients were given excessive doses.
“He also said that he has experience looking at a patient’s face to tell if they are addicted or not from their behaviour, but sometimes he can miss it,” the tribunal stated.
The tribunal found Dr Mohammadi’s evidence was a very “frank and candid acceptance of error”.
“While not intending to do harm, he was reckless in the doses and quantities he supplied for those patients we have identified,’’ it said.
“The fact remains that Dr Mohammadi prescribed a highly potent and addictive drug indicated in the management of chronic pain.
“Despite his denials and prevarications, we are satisfied that he knew several of the patients were drug seeking and/or drug dependent. He wrongly thought that he was treating their addiction.’’
In 2017, Dr Mohammadi voluntarily surrendered his authority to prescribe fentanyl patches.
He was ordered not to possess, supply, administer or prescribe any addictive drug.
On November 1, the tribunal found Dr Mohammadi guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct. It will determine orders at its next hearing.
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