Jul 20, 2008 12:51 pm US/Central
Mesquite Doctor Faces Inappropriate Conduct Claims
MESQUITE (AP) ―
A neurologist who was previously banned from examining female patients faces a charge over an allegation that he behaved inappropriately with a woman he treated.
Faiz Ahmed, 56, was charged with assault by contact, a misdemeanor. The charge is punishable by a fine of up to $500 and no jail time.
A woman treated for seizures at Dallas Regional Medical Center in Mesquite said Ahmed opened the back of her hospital gown while they were behind a curtain to examine her balance in April. When she asked to lie down, the woman said the doctor lifted the sheet and pulled up her gown.
Ahmed called the complaint "false allegations."
His medical privileges at the Mesquite hospital have been suspended, said hospital spokeswoman Paula Reisdorfer. She would not discuss if it was related to a patient complaint.
Ahmed still practices at Southwestern Institute of Neurology in Mesquite.
Several female patients accused Ahmed of touching them inappropriately in 1993 and 1994, when he was working in South Texas, according to a Texas Medical Board report.
Ahmed was never found guilty of a crime and did not settle any lawsuits with the patients. But his privileges were suspended indefinitely at a hospital in Hidalgo County and he was allowed to resign.
Based on the allegations and peer review, the state medical board entered an "agreed order" in February 2003 banning Ahmed from seeing female patients.
Ahmed unsuccessfully appealed the decision in 2004 and 2005. Following evaluations, the board amended the order in 2006 to say Ahmed should have a chaperone present when he examined a female patient. The condition was removed in Feb. 8 after Ahmed appealed.
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