St Kilda Superclinic’s Dr Phillip Soffer suspended for unsafe prescribing

A popular St Kilda doctor who treats vulnerable patients has been suspended for “unsafe and unethical” practices.

A St Kilda GP has been suspended after he “unsafely” prescribed weight loss medication to a woman with anxiety.

A popular St Kilda doctor who prescribed a potentially dangerous weight-loss drug to a woman to help with her anxiety has been suspended for three months.

Dr Phillip Soffer, who has worked as a GP for more than 40 years, admitted to unsafely prescribing Duromine to a woman who was not overweight without examining the patient or keeping proper records.

Duromine, used to treat obesity, can cause adverse effects in people being treated for anxiety.

Dr Soffer prescribed his female patient the anti-obesity drug on nine separate occasions between January 2017 and October 2018, the Medical Board found.

A Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal hearing in April this year heard the woman had been referred to Dr Soffer for an anxiety disorder.

The tribunal heard Dr Soffer prescribed the patient 40mg of Duromine, more than double the recommended 15mg starting dose.

He had also failed to have regard to factors such as her weight, BMI, blood pressure or any history of cardio vascular disease or psychiatric disorders.

The tribunal also heard Dr Soffer had failed to keep proper clinical records, instead making vague notes about the patient asking for another prescription.

Dr Soffer was also reprimanded for providing false and misleading information to the Board during an investigation into his care of the patient.

The tribunal heard consultation notes provided by Dr Soffer were inconsistent with the patient’s clinical records held by St Kilda Superclinic and appeared to have been “rewritten”.

The tribunal found Dr Soffer‘s conduct was “serious”.

“Not only was his treatment inappropriate but his note taking was almost non-existent,” the tribunal found.

“It was not isolated conduct. It was conduct that continued over a lengthy period and climaxed with dishonest conduct.

“It beggars belief that he was prepared to provide the regulator with notes purporting to have been made contemporaneously with his patient’s attendance at the clinic when they demonstrably were not.

“His attempt to rewrite the consultation and prescribing history demonstrate a deficiency of the characteristics required of a health practitioner.”

The tribunal heard Dr Soffer’s 43-year career as a GP had been unblemished until this incident, which had occurred during “tumultuous time” in his personal life in which several of Dr Soffer’s closest family members had undergone “significant health and unforeseen and extremely stressful issues”.

Dr Soffer’s registration was suspended for three months.

“We record that, but for the highly unusual personal circumstances of Dr Soffer at the time he engaged in the false and misleading conduct together with the remorse and insight he has shown and admissions he subsequently made, the period of suspension would have been a longer one,” the tribunal said.

“We are mindful that Dr Soffer has a vulnerable cohort of patients (and) it is a most unfortunate consequence of Dr Soffer’s conduct that they will, for a brief period, not be able to access Dr Soffer’s services.”

Dr Soffer will also undergo a minimum of six two-hour mentoring sessions over six months to ensure appropriate prescribing practices and record keeping.