The New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners (the "Board") has taken the following actions in December 2009. This information is a summary prepared by the Board Administrative Office staff. Copies of the Orders can be found at www.njmedicalboard.gov under the right-hand pull down menu, "Board Activities," "Monthly Summaries." Requests for certified, true copies should be made in writing directed to William V. Roeder, Executive Director, P.O. Box 183, Trenton, New Jersey 08625.

BAGGITT, Lawrence L., A.T.
License #MT000458
Stockton, NJ 08559-2123

CONSENT ORDER OF REPRIMAND filed December 24, 2009. This matter was opened to the Board upon receipt of an application for reinstatement of license to practice athletic training. Mr. Baggitt's license to practice athletic training expired on January 31, 2009, nevertheless, Mr. Baggitt continued to practice athletic training from March 10, 2009 to June 03, 2009. Mr. Baggitt's license was reinstated on June 03, 2009, upon the payment of the appropriate fees. The Board ordered, and Mr. Baggitt agreed to be reprimanded for the unlicensed practice of athletic training. Mr. Baggitt paid a penalty in the amount of $250.00, contemporaneously with the signing of this Order. EFFECTIVE DATE: August 13, 2009.

CHRISTENSEN, Vanessa Rae, A.T.
License #MT0001417
West Long Branch, NJ 07764
West Chester Univ, 2006

CONSENT ORDER OF REPRIMAND filed December 24, 2009. This matter was opened to the Board upon receipt of an application for reinstatement of license to practice athletic training in New Jersey. Ms. Christensen's license to practice athletic training expired on January 31, 2009, and nonetheless she continued to practice as an athletic trainer from March 10, 2009 to June 11, 2009, with an expired license. Ms. Christensen's license was reinstated on June 11, 2009, upon the payment of appropriate fees. The Board ordered and Ms. Christensen agreed to be reprimanded for the unlicensed practice of athletic training. Ms. Christensen paid a penalty in the amount of $250.00 contemporaneously with the signing of this Order. EFFECTIVE DATE: July 27, 2009.

CONNORS, Thomas J., A.T.
License #MT000417
Sewell, NJ 08080

CONSENT ORDER OF REPRIMAND filed December 24, 2009. This matter was opened to the Board upon receipt of an application for reinstatement of license to practice athletic training in New Jersey. Mr. Connors' athletic training license expired on January 31, 2009, nevertheless, he continued to practice athletic training from March 10, 2009 to April 22, 2009. Mr. Connors' license was reinstated on April 22, 2009, upon the payment of the appropriate fees. The Board ordered and Mr. Connors agreed to be reprimanded for the unlicensed practice of athletic training. Mr. Connors paid a penalty in the amount of $250.00, contemporaneously with the signing of this Order. EFFECTIVE DATE: August 25, 2009.

COSTINO, John G., Jr., D.O.
License #MB025758
Wildwood, NJ 08260-5865
Phil Col Osteo Med, 1971
Reciprocity

FINAL DECISION AND ORDER filed December 21, 2009. This matter was opened to the Board upon the filing of a Verified Complaint on December 5, 2007. The Complaint charged Dr. Costino with engaging in numerous practices which violated the Medical Practice Act concerning his care and treatment of two alleged patients (i.e., undercover agents) to whom he prescribed Percocet more than seven visits (nine prescriptions) and his billing for the treatment. Dr. Costino's actions in treating the two patients, including his repeated prescribing of Percocet a Schedule II Controlled Dangerous Substance(CDS) to each of them was alleged to constitute gross or repeated acts of negligence; dishonesty, fraud or deception; professional misconduct; acts constituting moral turpitude or relating adversely to the activity regulated by the Board; indiscriminate prescribing of CDS; and a failure to be of good moral character as required for continued licensure. Dr. Costino's conduct was also alleged to constitute a failure to comply with the regulations of the Board regarding his prescribing of CDS and other medications, and his failure to maintain proper patient records. Dr. Costino filed an Answer to the Complaint on December 11, 2007, and by his Answer, admitted many of the allegations of the Complaint, while denying certain of the allegations, which included, for example, the diagnoses which were made, the duration of the patient visits, and whether the patients lacked a medical problem or complaints of pain. The application for Temporary Suspension of License was heard by the Board on December 12, 2007, and was granted on that date. The temporary suspension was effective on December 17, 2007, and has been in effect since that time. This matter was referred to the Office of Administrative Law and following extensive pre-hearing procedures, hearings were held on four dates beginning December 4, 2008 and ending January 29, 2009. The Initial Decision of the Administrative Law Judge was issued on May 14, 2009. The Initial Decision was considered by the Board on June 15, 2009. Following the hearing of oral argument on exceptions, and after consideration of the entirety of the Initial Decision and the totality of the record, including transcripts, audio recordings and exhibits, the Board adopted the findings of fact and conclusions of law set forth in the Initial Decision of the Administrative Law Judge. The Board found that Dr. Costino's treatments of the agents were grossly and repeatedly negligent; his actions in prescribing CDS involved the use of dishonesty, fraud, deception and misrepresentation; he violated acts constituting moral turpitude or relating adversely to medical practice; he failed to comply with an act or regulation of the Board; he failed to follow the regulations for prescribing medication or CDS; and his indiscriminate prescribing of CDS demonstrated a failure to be of good moral character which is required for licensure as a physician. The Board ordered the license of Dr. Costino revoked with no ability for re-application for five years. Dr. Costino, however, was granted credit for the period of time his license had been temporarily suspended since December 17, 2007. Any application for reinstatement may be made on or after December 16, 2012, when he will be required to appear before the Board, or Committee thereof, and demonstrate his full compliance with this Order, as well as his fitness and competency to practice medicine. Dr. Costino must pay a penalty in the amount of $10,000.00 and costs in the amount of $77,809.45. EFFECTIVE DATE: December 17, 2007.

ELAMIR, Magdy, M.D.
License #MA041404
Jersey City, NJ 07306-2700
Cairo Univ, 1977
FLEX Endorsement

ORDER OF TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF LICENSE filed December 18, 2009. This matter was opened to the Board upon the filing of a Verified Complaint on December 3, 2009. The Complaint alleged that Dr. Elamir was the subject of a criminal investigation focused upon alleged illegal prescribing of Controlled Dangerous Substances and Medicaid Fraud. The investigation was conducted in part by sending three cooperating witnesses into Dr. Elamir's office to conduct a total of eight undercover visits. It is alleged that the cooperating witnesses were able to secure prescriptions for Percocet and Xanax and in one case, a third prescription for Advair by simply requesting the medications. Dr. Elamir was arrested on October 20, 2009, on charges of distribution of a Controlled Dangerous Substance, Medicaid Fraud, and Health Care Claims Fraud. Simultaneous with the filing of the Complaint, the Board entered an Order to Show Cause scheduling a hearing upon the application for the entry of an Order temporarily suspending Dr. Elamir's license. A Hearing was scheduled and held on December 9, 2009. Upon consideration of the record presently before the Board, the Board found that a compelling predicate existed to find Dr. Elamir's continued practice would present a clear and imminent danger to the public health, safety and welfare. This was based on documentation demonstrating that on eight separate occasions, individual patients were able to obtain prescriptions for Percocet and Xanax (and in one case, a third prescription for Advair), upon doing nothing more than walking into Dr. Elamir's office and asking for the medications. In each instance, the visits were a complete sham insofar as there was not even a pretext that the prescriptions were issued for a legitimate medical need or purpose. In all cases, neither Dr. Elamir nor any other member of his staff ever conducted even the most cursory of physical examination, or otherwise attempted to obtain an appropriate history to support the prescribing. Each encounter was extremely brief and in each instance the cooperating witness reported that Dr. Elamir made no contemporaneous entries into any patient record. The Board concluded that on eight separate occasions, Dr. Elamir totally abrogated his responsibilities as a licensee and his repeated abrogation of the most basic and fundamental obligations of a physician evidenced a wanton disregard for the safety and well-being of his supposed "patients." The Board ordered effective as of 5:00 p.m. on December 23, 2009, the license of Dr. Elamir to practice medicine and surgery in New Jersey temporarily suspended and this will continue until the completion of plenary proceedings in this matter. Between December 9, 2009 and December 23, 2009, Dr. Elamir was precluded from writing any prescriptions for any Controlled Dangerous Substances and from taking on any new patients. Dr. Elamir was instructed to seek appropriate arrangements for the transfer of care of all existing patients to other licensed physicians. EFFECTIVE DATE: December 18, 2009.

HANG FU, Lee C.D., M.D.
License #MA053299
Avon Lake, OH 44012
Univ of Western Ontario, 1983
FLEX Endorsement

FINAL ORDER OF DISCIPLINE filed December 23, 2009. This matter was opened to the Board upon receipt of information which revealed that on or about October 8, 2008, the Ohio Board entered an Entry of Order against Dr. Hang Fu. More specifically, the Ohio Board found Dr. Hang Fu violated Ohio Laws, including office-based surgery rules, in that he conducted many surgeries, including liposuction surgery under tumescent local anesthesia after the office-based surgery requirements went into effect on January 1, 2004; that he did not timely seek or obtain accreditation for his office; he used moderate sedation/analgesia when he did not hold privileges to provide moderate sedation/analgesia; he used oversized cannulas during liposuction surgeries; he did not fully comply with the statutory notice obligations for physicians who do not carry medical malpractice insurance; and he made statements in interrogatories that were intended to mislead the Ohio Board. The Order provided for the permanent revocation of Dr. Hang Fu's license, with said revocation stayed and his license suspended for an indefinite period of time, but not less than one year. Prior to reinstatement in Ohio, Dr. Hang Fu is required to successfully complete a professional ethics course; a clinical competence assessment (and any recommended remediation plan); and submission of a practice plan. Thereafter, upon reinstatement, Dr. Hang Fu will be on probation for a period of at least two years subject to terms, conditions and limitations as may be imposed by the Ohio Board. The Ohio disciplinary action taken against Dr. Hang Fu provided grounds for the New Jersey Board to take disciplinary action, in that his Ohio License had been revoked. A Provisional Order of Discipline ("POD") was entered by the New Jersey Board on June 12, 2009. Dr. Hang Fu, through his counsel, responded to the POD. Dr. Hang Fu submitted another response on his own behalf stating that his actions were the result of a good faith misunderstanding of the new office-based surgery rules of the Ohio Board; that the suspension of his New Jersey license is too harsh a penalty; that he timely applied for accreditation which was delayed due to renovations in his office building and as a result he requested an extension of time but was not informed by the Ohio Board that he would not be compliant during that time; that his office staff called the Ohio Board for clarification and was provided with erroneous information that during the accreditation process he would be considered in compliance; and that he immediately ceased practice upon receiving notification from the Ohio Board of his noncompliance. Finally, Dr. Hang Fu further stated that he acted in good faith in providing what he erroneously considered to be "minimal sedation"; that his failure to comply with the Ohio Board's regulations is simply a technical violation since there was no patient harm; and that his inaccurate answers to interrogatories were simple errors and that it was not his intent to deceive the Ohio Board. The New Jersey Board took into consideration Dr. Hang Fu's good faith arguments for mitigation purposes, but the Board found that he had an obligation to meet the Ohio Board's rules and that he admittedly failed to do so. The New Jersey Board ordered Dr. Hang Fu's license to practice medicine and surgery in New Jersey suspended until such time as he holds an active, unrestricted certificate to practice medicine and surgery in Ohio. Prior to resuming active practice in New Jersey, Dr. Hang Fu must appear before the Board, or a Committee thereof, and demonstrate that he is fit to practice medicine in this State, and that he holds an active, unrestricted certificate to practice medicine and surgery in Ohio. EFFECTIVE DATE: December 23, 2009.

HAVENS, Matthew A., A.T.
License #MT000957
Oakly, NJ 08107-1408

CONSENT ORDER OF REPRIMAND filed December 24, 2009. This matter was opened to the Board upon receipt of an application for reinstatement of license to practice athletic training. Mr. Havens' license to practice athletic training expired on January 31, 2009, nevertheless, Mr. Havens continued to practice athletic training from March 10, 2009 to June 12, 2009. Mr. Havens' license was reinstated on June 12, 2009, upon the payment of the appropriate fees. The Board ordered and Mr. Havens agreed to be reprimanded for the unlicensed practice of athletic training. Mr. Havens paid a penalty in the amount of $250.00, contemporaneously with the signing of this Order. EFFECTIVE DATE: December 9, 2009.

LANGDON, Mary K., A.T.
License #MT001497
Sparta, NJ 07871
Lock Haven Univ, 1993

CONSENT ORDER OF REPRIMAND filed December 28, 2009. This matter was opened to the Board upon receipt of an application for reinstatement of license to practice athletic training. Ms. Langdon's license to practice athletic training expired on January 31, 2009, nevertheless, she continued to practice athletic training from March 10, 2009 to June 12, 2009. Ms. Langdon's license was reinstated on June 12, 2009, upon the payment of the appropriate fees. The Board ordered and Ms. Langdon agreed to be reprimanded for the unlicensed practice of athletic training. Ms. Langdon paid a penalty in the amount of $250.00, contemporaneously with the signing of this Order. EFFECTIVE DATE: December 9, 2009.

O'DONOGHUE, Erin N., A.T.
License #MT001447
Blairtown, NJ 07825
Montclair State Univ, 2007

CONSENT ORDER OF REPRIMAND filed December 28, 2009. This matter was opened to the Board upon receipt of an application for reinstatement of license to practice athletic training. Ms. O'Donoghue's license to practice athletic training expired on January 31, 2009, nevertheless, she continued to practice athletic training from March 10, 2009 to May 11, 2009. Ms. O'Donoghue's license was reinstated on May 11, 2009, upon the payment of the appropriate fees. The Board ordered and Ms. O'Donoghue agreed to be reprimanded for the unlicensed practice of athletic training. Ms. O'Donoghue paid a penalty in the amount of $250.00, contemporaneously with the signing of this Order. EFFECTIVE DATE: December 9, 2009.

PARIKH, Bipin J., M.D.
License #MA039431
Jersey City, NJ 07302
BJ Med Col/Gujarat Univ, 1971
FLEX Endorsement

CONSENT ORDER GRANTING SURRENDER OF LICENSE, TO BE DEEMED A REVOCATION filed December 18, 2009. This matter was opened to the Board upon the filing of a Verified Complaint filed on May 29, 2008. On June 11, 2009, Dr. Parikh entered into an Interim Consent Order suspending his license pending the disposition of the criminal charges and further Order of the Board. On July 7, 2008, Dr. Parikh filed an Answer denying the substantive allegations of the Verified Complaint. This matter was then transferred to the Office of Administrative Law. On April 15, 2008, Dr. Parikh was arrested and charged with issuing prescriptions for Controlled Dangerous Substances in exchange for cash. On November 9, 2009, pursuant to a plea agreement, Dr. Parikh pled guilty to Second Degree Health Care Claims Fraud and Third Degree Distribution of a Controlled Dangerous Substance. Dr. Parikh will be sentenced to three to five years of incarceration for both offenses to run concurrently; he is to pay restitution; and he will enter into a Consent Judgment whereby he will be debarred from the Medicaid program for eight years. As a result of the guilty plea, the Board found Dr. Parikh has been convicted of acts constituting crimes or offenses involving moral turpitude and/or relating adversely to the practice of medicine; that he engaged in professional misconduct; that he pled guilty to Second Degree health Care Claims Fraud; and that he prescribed Controlled Dangerous Substances indiscriminately or without good cause. The Board ordered and Dr. Parikh agreed to surrender his license to practice medicine and surgery, with said surrender to be deemed a revocation of his license. Dr. Parikh will be ineligible to apply for or obtain a license to practice medicine and surgery in New Jersey during any period of time that he is serving a custodial sentence, parole or probation arising from his guilty plea and until the satisfaction of any and all terms of his criminal plea agreement. Dr. Parikh will be further ineligible to obtain a license to practice until he has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Board that he is fit and competent to practice and that his practice of medicine does not pose a threat to the health, safety and welfare of patients or the public. EFFECTIVE DATE: December 18, 2009.

PEARCE, Leeann J., A.T.
License #MT000474
Manasquan, NJ 08736

CONSENT ORDER OF REPRIMAND filed December 28, 2009. This matter was opened to the Board upon receipt of an application for reinstatement of license to practice athletic training. Ms. Pearce's license to practice athletic training expired on January 31, 2009, nevertheless, she continued to practice athletic training from March 10, 2009 to April 22, 2009. Ms. Pearce's license was reinstated on April 22, 2009, upon the payment of the appropriate fees. The Board ordered and Ms. Pearce agreed to be reprimanded for the unlicensed practice of athletic training. Ms. Pearce paid a penalty in the amount of $250.00, contemporaneously with the signing of this Order. EFFECTIVE DATE: September 1, 2009.

SHETH, Surendra, M.D.
License #MA030270
Marlton, NJ 08053-4805
Baroda Univ Med Col, 1970
Examination

FINAL DECISION AND ORDER filed December 29, 2009. This matter commenced with the filing of a Complaint against Dr. Sheth on July 11, 2005. The Complaint alleged in Count I that Dr. Sheth's treatment of patient JS constituted gross and/or repeated acts of negligence, malpractice, or incompetence with respect to a rare metabolic disorder, Carnitine Transport Defect ("CTD"), which JS had and that Dr. Sheth committed violations of the record keeping regulations. Dr. Sheth treated JS from April 1987, when JS was two weeks old until JS died suddenly in May 2000, at the age of thirteen. The Complaint alleged that after JS was diagnosed with CTD, Dr. Sheth undertook the management of JS' treatment with inadequate knowledge and experience, failed to consult with any of the readily available experts on CTD, inappropriately decreased the prescription of carnitine supplements recommended by a specialist, and improperly monitored the child's growth, development and condition. The Complaint further alleged that Dr. Sheth maintained inadequate treatment records for JS by failing to document JS suffered from CTD, failed to document the findings of several exams, failed to maintain an adequate growth chart, and failed to document an ongoing Carnitor prescription. Dr. Sheth filed an Answer on July 20, 2005, in which he denied all substantive allegations of the Complaint. This matter was referred to the Office of Administrative Law ("OAL"), where a hearing was held over the course of four days and an Initial Decision was rendered on May 18, 2009. The final disposition by the Board was scheduled for July 8, 2009. After carefully reviewing the record in this case, weighing the arguments of counsel, and considering the well-reasoned Initial Decision of the Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ"), the Board incorporated and adopted in toto the findings of fact and conclusions of law of the ALJ as the Board's Final Decision. It, however, modified the penalty recommended by the ALJ utilizing its expertise as physicians and Board discretion after reviewing the record in this matter. The Board found Dr. Sheth's actions and inactions demonstrated gross and repeated acts of negligence, a disregard for the statutes and regulations governing the practice of medicine, and violations of the basic standards of care. The Board ordered the license of Dr. Sheth to practice medicine and surgery suspended for one year, effective upon the filing of this Order. The one year suspension was stayed in its entirety and is to be served as a period of probation. Dr. Sheth is to enroll in and provide documentation to the Board of successful completion of a record keeping course within six months of the filing of this Order. He also is to pay a penalty in the amount of $20,000.00 and costs in the amount of $57,397.56. EFFECTIVE DATE: December 29, 2009.

 

THE NEW JERSEY STATE
BOARD OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS

William V. Roeder
WVR/jj Executive Director