The Health Department suspended a Rhode Island physician's license to practice medicine after a review of six patients' deaths showed that he had inappropriately prescribed them narcotics.
Fathalla Mashali, an anesthesiologist whose practice includes pain management, was barred from practicing until further notice, according to an order signed Thursday by state Health Department Director Michael D. Fine.
Concerns about Mashali, who has an office at 6 Blackstone Valley Place, Lincoln, were raised after the Office of the State Medical Examiners observed a pattern of fatal overdoses of prescription pain medication in Mashali's patients and reported their findings to the state Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline.
The suspension order says that while the board did not necessarily find Mashali responsible for the deaths of the six patients, a review of their medical records showed that he had prescribed opioids (painkillers) to patients with a history of drug abuse and failed to properly monitor them.
The report describes one case in which Mashali continued to prescribe a month's worth of opioids to a female patient even after he had evidence that suggested she was not taking them as prescribed. In another case, he gave a male patient who had tested positive for amphetamine and cocaine a month's worth of narcotics.
Mashali dispensed "vast amounts of opioids and Benzodiazepines to a patient with multiple urine toxicology screens suggesting that he was not taking the medication as prescribed..." the report states.
In a third case, he gave a female patient who repeatedly tested positive for Ecstasy, an illegal drug, was given a month's supply of opioids. A reviewer who analyzed Mashali's medical records stated in the report that his prescribing habits in the case as as "lavish" and his physical exam as "cursory."
The Health Department has advised patients who need copies of their medical records to contact Mashali's office. Patients who need to find another prescriber or receive pain care assistance are advised to contact their primary care provider or use the
"Fine a doctor" tool on the HEALTH web page.
http://www.providencejournal.com/
http://www.turnto10.com/story/23302426/ri-suspends-doctor-after-opiate-deaths
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
Middlesex, SS. Board
of Registration in Medicine
Docket
No. 13-341
)
In the Matter of )
)
FATHALLA M. MASHALI,
M.D. )
Registration No. 152670 )
)
VOLUNTARY AGREEMENT NOT TO PRACTICE MEDICINE
1. I
agree to cease my practice of medicine in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
effective immediately.
2. This
Agreement will remain in effect until the Board of Registration in Medicine
(Board) determines that this Agreement should be modified or terminated; or
until the Board takes other action against my license to practice medicine; or
until the Board takes final action on the above-referenced matter.
3. I
am entering this Agreement voluntarily.
4. I
understand that this Agreement is a public document and may be subject to a
press release.
5. I
understand that this action is non-disciplinary but will be reported by the
Board to the appropriate federal data banks and national reporting
organizations, including the National Practitioner Data Bank and the Federation
of State Medical Boards.
6. Any
violation of this Agreement shall be prima facie evidence for immediate summary
suspension of my license to practice medicine.
7. I understand that by voluntarily
agreeing not to practice medicine in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts pursuant
to this Agreement, I do not waive my right to contest any allegations brought
against me by the Board and my signature to this Agreement does not constitute
any admissions on my part. Nothing
contained in this Agreement shall be construed as an admission or
acknowledgment by me as to wrongdoing of any kind in the practice of medicine
or otherwise.
8. I agree to provide a complete copy of this Agreement, within
twenty-four (24) hours of notification of the Board’s acceptance of this
Agreement, by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by hand delivery to
the following designated entities: any
in-state or out-of-state hospital, nursing home, clinic, other licensed facility,
or municipal, state, or federal facility at which I practice medicine; any
in-state or out-of-state health maintenance organization, with which I have
privileges or any other kind of association; any state agency, in-or-out-of
state, with which I have a provider contract; any in-state or out-of-state
medical employer, whether or not I practice medicine there; the Drug
Enforcement Administration Boston Diversion Group; Massachusetts
Department of Public Health Drug Control Program; and the state licensing boards of
all states in which I have any kind of license to practice medicine. I will certify to the Board within seven (7)
days that I have complied with this directive.
The Board expressly reserves the authority to independently notify, at
any time, any of the entities designated above or any other affected entity, of
any action it has taken.
9. This Agreement represents the entire
agreement between the parties at this time.
Signed by Fathalla M. Mashali, M.D.
Fathalla M. Mashali, M.D. Date
Licensee
Signed by Jennifer Boyd Herlihy 9/4/13
Jennifer Boyd Herlihy Date
Attorney for Licensee
Accepted by the
Board of Registration in Medicine this 1st
day of _September______, 2013_.
Signed by
Candace Lapidus Sloane, M.D.
Board Chair or
Designee
Ratified by vote of the Board of
Registration in Medicine this 11th
day of September, 2013.
Signed by
Candace Lapidus Sloane, M.D.
Board Chair or Board
.........................................................................
DECISION
SILVERSTEIN, J.
Before this Court are two motions brought by Plaintiffs Siemens Financial Services, Inc. (―Siemens Financial‖) and Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. (―SMS‖) (collectively, ―Plaintiffs‖ or ―Siemens‖): (1) a Motion to Strike or Otherwise Disregard Deposition Testimony, and (2) a Motion for Summary Judgment on all of their Claims and the Defendants‘ Counterclaims. Defendants Stonebridge Equipment Leasing, LLC (―Stonebridge‖), Muhammad M. Itani (―Itani‖), and Bisher I. Hashem (―Hashem‖) (collectively ―Defendants‖) oppose both motions. Essentially, the Plaintiffs are seeking to recover for breaches of contract relating to leased medical equipment and the guaranties associated with those leases. Defendants allege—as both their affirmative defenses and two of their remaining Counterclaims—that the contracts and guaranties were procured by fraud and/or intentional misrepresentation. Defendants also assert a counterclaim for unfair or deceptive business practices under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A.
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http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/departments/borim/info-for-consumers/complaints/disciplinary-and-other-board-actions.html
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Dr. mashalli was a wonderful man. He had been taking care of me for 2 and 1/2 years. Yes it was aggervating that he came in late and there were a ton of people. However Dr.Mashalli took such good care of me during the hardest time of my life, I am 28 yrs old with a disease that there is no cure for, psuedo tumor cerebrei, your spinal fluid crushes your brain literally. Between 2 brain surgeries and 2 back surgeries dr.mashalli was always there fo me always looking out for my well being. What doctor works 6 days a week trying to see every patient because there a very few pain clinics in the new england area. Come on his wife owns her own dental practice and he has 4 locations. I dont believe its all about $$$$. If you were honest with him, passed your monthly drug screening and took your medication like you were supposed to then there would have been no problems. He even offered suboxone to patients that couldnt follow the rules of his contract. He never just threw anyone out on the street without giving options. The conversations I overheard in the waiting room shocked me but Dr. mashalli figured out who the trash was and got rid of them but the trash could not just stay out, they had to ruin it for those of us who have serious medical problems not just drug
http://www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_Fathalla_Mashali/reviews#ixzz2v4jCNTuU
Fathalla Mashali, a Dover pain medicine doctor, was arrested on charges of health care fraud, following a Federal Bureau of Investigation probe.
Mashali is accused of prescribing high dose narcotics to patients who were known to be drug abusers and whose medical conditions did not warrant it. He is also accused of fraudulently billing Medicare for physical examinations that never occurred, and then doctoring patient files to support the fraudulent billing practices.
Mashali is the owner of New England Wellness and Pain Management, a/k/a New England Pain Associates of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, a/k/a New England Pain Institute.
Until September, Mashali, was in possession of two Drug Enforcement Agency licenses to prescribe controlled substances, including narcotics, in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island. On Sept. 11, 2013, he surrendered both licenses. Until that time he was the only doctor on staff at his medical practice, but beginning in Sept. 11, three doctors each practiced there for a short time.
In July, four employees of Mashali who had worked as nurses and physician assistants wrote a letter expressing concerns regarding “unprofessional, unethical, and unlawful behavior” by the doctor, the government states in court documents. All four left their positions.
On July 14, the group submitted their letter to the Boston field office of the DEA, the Boston FBI office and the Massachusetts Board of Registration, the licensing board for doctors. The letter prompted an immediate criminal investigation by the FBI.
The government alleges that in some cases, Mashali booked four patients for the same 20-minute time slots.
http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/health-care/2014/02/dover-doctor-arrested-on-narcotics-fraud.html
Pain Management Physician Charged with Overbilling Medicare
BOSTON – A physician specializing in pain management was charged today for overbilling the Medicare program.
Fathalla Mashali, 59, of Dover, was indicted on nine counts of heath care fraud.
Mashali was a licensed physician in Massachusetts and Rhode Island who operated New England Wellness & Pain Management, P.C., which was also known as New England Pain Associates, P.C., Greystone Pain Management, Inc., and New England Pain Institute, P.C., or NEPA. NEPA, a pain management clinic with locations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, served many patients who were Medicare beneficiaries.
The indictment alleges that Mashali trained NEPA employees, including physician assistants and registered nurses, to overbill the Medicare program. Mashali overbooked patient appointments, sometimes with as many as four patients per slot, and arrived to work up to four hours late, causing significant overcrowding at NEPA’s waiting rooms. The patient appointments often lasted less than 10 minutes and sometimes as few as two to three minutes. Mashali often saw patients without performing physical examinations. The indictment also alleges that with the exception of patients requiring injections, Mashali conducted patient visits in a small office with a desk, resembling a business office, rather than in an examination room containing medical equipment. Nevertheless, Mashali submitted fraudulent claims to the Medicare program seeking reimbursement for patient services far exceeding in scope and duration the actual services he provided to patients.
If convicted, Mashali faces a maximum sentence under the statute on each count of health care fraud of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine in the amount of $250,000 or twice the pecuniary gain to Mashali or loss to the Medicare program, and restitution.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; John J. Arvanitis, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Phillip Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations; Anthony DiPaolo, Chief of Investigations of the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau; and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Kimberly P. West and Lisa Asiaf-Schlatz of Ortiz’s Health Care Fraud Unit and Katherine Ferguson of Ortiz’s Drug Task Force Unit.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
http://www.justice.gov/usao/ma/news/2014/March/MashaliFathallaindictedPR.html
