The Iowa Board of Medicine said it is justified in sanctioning a Wright County doctor who surrendered his Minnesota license while under investigation for substandard care.
In a lawsuit filed late last year, Dr. Dennis Colby, 66, of the Iowa Specialty Clinic in Belmond said that the Iowa board can’t penalize him for “the mere surrender of his license to practice medicine in the state of Minnesota.”
The Iowa board said otherwise, telling an Iowa judge that Colby’s “argument is akin to someone saying that because they pled guilty, as opposed to being found guilty through a trial, there was not a conviction.”
State licensing boards routinely penalize doctors based on disciplinary action taken by other states, but Colby argues his voluntary decision to give up his license while under investigation can’t be considered discipline.
The case could have major ramification for the oversight of Iowa physicians because the Iowa Board of Medicine often imposes discipline based on the actions taken against doctors by other states. In some cases, Iowa-practicing physicians will agree to surrender their licenses in other states simply to bring the out-of-state investigations to a halt while they continue to work in Iowa.
As part of his lawsuit, Colby has asked that a district court judge set aside the Iowa board’s recent order restricting his practices, order the board to refund the civil penalty he has paid, and fully reinstate his license to practice medicine in Iowa.
In response, the Iowa Board of Medicine has pointed out that in a similar case dating back to 2007, the Iowa Court of Appeals concluded that surrendering one’s license in lieu of discipline “falls squarely within the definition of ‘other disciplinary action’ taken by another state, territory, or country.”
Colby, the Iowa board says, voluntary surrendered his license while “acknowledging that he committed conduct that Minnesota viewed as inappropriate, unethical, and improper … The Minnesota board’s website clearly stated that (Colby’s) license had been disciplined by the board.”
The issues with Colby date back to 2018, when the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice received a complaint alleging he was prescribing certain medications in a dangerous manner. An additional complaint was received by the Minnesota board in early 2019, alleging Colby violated certain regulations as a medical examiner, and that his employer had “evaluated him for risk.”
According to the Iowa board, Minnesota’s investigation of those complaints uncovered concerns with Colby’s patient care, his documentation and his prescribing practices. Based on that, the Iowa board voted in September to fine Colby $2,500 and prohibit him from prescribing or administering controlled substances. The board also placed Colby’s license on probation for three years. It is those sanctions that Colby is now challenging in Polk County District Court.
A hearing in the case was held last month, but the court has yet to rule on the matter.
Some of the newly filed court records shed new light on the Minnesota board’s concerns with Colby. The allegations being examined by the Minnesota board “were numerous,” the Iowa board states in court filings, adding that the primary concerns pertained to Colby’s opioid prescribing habits and his care of seven different patients.
The allegations included overprescribing and failing to monitor prescriptions; failing to order a CT scan, leading to the delayed identification of a large subdural hemorrhage in a patient; clearing a patient for general anesthesia without conducting a cardiovascular risk assessment; failing to follow up with a patient whose medications had been adjusted; and clearing for general anesthesia a patient who did not have his diabetes under control.
In addition, the Minnesota board also expressed concerns over unethical or improper conduct likely to harm the public; failure to properly supervise a physician’s assistant; engaging in conduct that did not meet the minimum standards of practice; improperly managing medical records; engaging in fraudulent billing practices; and improperly prescribing medication.
A competency evaluation at the Center for Personalized Education for Professionals allegedly identified numerous areas of concerns and educational needs for Colby.
In 2016, the Iowa board issued Colby a letter of warning regarding a failure to appropriately diagnose a patient. In 2019, the Wisconsin board issued Colby a reprimand for failure to comply with continuing medical education audit requirements.
