An elderly Gastroenterologist in Tampa has been put on leave after he failed to hear a patient's screams during a colonoscopy because he was not wearing the required hearing aids.
Dr. Ishwari Prasad, who has held a medical license for 34 years, was placed on probation by the Florida Board of Medicine following a complaint accusing him of medical malpractice.
The complaint cited two procedures at the Ambulatory Surgery Center in June 2023 in which he failed to "effectively communicate" with his team and the patients due to his hearing impairment, according to the Independent.
In one incident, Prasad was unable to hear the patient's yelling as he "began inserting the scope" before they were fully sedated.
During another procedure, the doctor "improperly delegated" portions of the colonoscopy to a surgical tech who did not hold a medical license.
On August 7, the state's board of medicine ruled that Dr. Prasad's license be placed on probation, barring him from performing gastroenterology procedures without a supervisor present.
Prasad was fined $7,500, required to pay $6,301 in board administrative costs, and ordered to complete five hours of a Continuing Medical Education course in laws, rules, and ethics within a year.
