New patient makes accusation against Ephrata doctor

Dr. Said disputes charges

EPHRATA - An Ephrata physician accused of unprofessional conduct has a new complaint against him.

Dr. Mohammad Hassan Said, 69, was charged by the state in 2007 of providing five patients with substandard care for chronic pain management and for violating appropriate boundaries with one of his patients.

The state Medical Quality Assurance Commission added a sixth patient to the list of accusers. The state alleges Said violated appropriate boundaries between doctor and patient and provided substandard care for chronic pain management.

Said, who has worked at his office in Ephrata for 26 years, plans to fight the charges.

"I am fighting for my patients," he said.

Disciplinary Manager Erin Obenland said Said has until March 13 to respond to the statement of charges. Said requested and was granted an extension on the original deadline, Obenland said.

Said has options on how to respond, including waiving his right to a hearing, or requesting a settlement and asking a hearing be held if a settlement cannot be reached, he said.

Said said he plans to ask the Medical Quality Assurance Commission to drop all the charges against him.

"All those charges are false," Said said. "They don't have any foundation."

The Medical Quality Assurance Commission makes the decision to issue charges against physicians, Obenland noted.

According to the state, "(Said) opened his office at a time it was normally closed because, as he documented, he 'could see she was desperate for pain medication.' On more than one occasion, (Said) allowed (the patient) to clean his home as compensation for her medical bill."

The state alleges Said loaned the patient $100 to pay bills, and the patient asked to stay at Said's home.

He said he has given patients money.

"I do it out of my heart," Said said. "(It) has nothing to do with their situation."

In addition, Said is accused of advising the patient on her marital problems, including advising her on sexual practices.

"It is out of my medical expertise to advise against (types of sex) in some cases," Said responded.

In addition to the other allegations, the state alleges Said did not respond appropriately to the signs and risk factors for medication abuse.

"These signs and risk factors included the following: Multiple acknowledgment by the patient that she was taking more medication than prescribed, frequent requests for early refills, reports of lost or stolen medication, and acknowledgment that she took her husband's pain medication and that she gave medication to her mother-in-law, multiple accidents and injuries, and a history of heavy alcohol use," according to the state.

Said said his patients are "human" and may take more medication than prescribed. He said he tries to work with them.

"I don't have one single patient in my practice that is taking more medication than they used to take," Said said.

One patient who came in on Tuesday used to take 19 tablets of a medication under another doctor each day, he said. The patient, whom he has seen for four years, is reducing her medication to four tablets each day and then quitting the medication.

He said patients cannot be cut off "cold turkey." He works with them until they are ready to quit.

"If I say, 'No medication,' they will go and steal," he said.

Many of Said's patients have quit taking drugs and drinking alcohol, he noted. He estimated 50 patients have decreased their medication, quit taking the medication, or he dismissed them from his practice.

"I am really trying to help my patients," he said. "That is my concern right now."

If he finds a patient is seeking medication from another physician in addition to himself, he confronts them about it. He may drop them from his practice, he said.

Said said the state expert who reviewed the charges is an expert in rehabilitation and physical therapy.

"In my opinion, she's below my education and expertise," he said.

Said has a PhD in preventative and social medicine from the University of Madrid in Spain, and a diploma in public health from Canada. The diploma is the United States equivalent to a master's degree, Said said.

He said the state expert claims he did not conduct a physical of the patients. The complete physical for a patient does not always show up, because the patient is being seen for a follow-up appointment, he said.

Said said he conducted regular physicals of the patients.

He said part of the charges against him pertain to renting to patients. He said he has two mobile homes and rents them out. In a small town, a renter may be a patient, he said.

The lawyers making the charges are doing so without knowledge of medical issues, Said said.

"The lawyer should never issue charges until there is a conclusion (of the case)," he said.

In his opinion, it is immoral to issue the charges before the case is concluded and an attempt to damage the reputation of doctors, Said said.

He plans to ask the commission to drop the charges.

"I say these are lies. This is a stupid thing they are doing. There is racism there," he said.