Latest news with #BoardofMedicine
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Doctor's license is suspended over allegations of sexual misconduct with patient
(Photo courtesy of the Iowa Board of Medicine) The Iowa Board of Medicine has suspended the license of a Centerville physician accused of sexual misconduct involving a patient. According to the board, Dr. Joshwa Tromblee 'exchanged inappropriate messages' with a female patient he first saw at MercyOne's Centerville Medical Center on Sept. 24, 2021. Tromblee was a family-medicine physician at that time. Tromblee saw the patient again on Aug. 8, 2022, and April 3, 2023. The patient subsequently sent Tromblee a Facebook friend request, after which the two exchanged messages on Facebook and Snapchat. The exchanges included 'sexually inappropriate messages and sexually explicit pictures,' the board alleges. Tromblee also sent the patient money on one occasion, according to the board. At some point, MercyOne reviewed Tromblee's social media exchanges with the patient and determined he had violated the standard of conduct and crossed a line by engaging in an inappropriate patient-physician relationship. He was placed on paid administrative leave on April 12, 2023, and was fired nine days later, according to the board. Twenty-three months later – one week after Tromblee's license expired — the Board of Medicine charged Tromblee with sexual misconduct and, at the same time, agreed to a settlement to resolve the case. The settlement entails an indefinite suspension of Tromblee's license. He is required to schedule a multidisciplinary fitness-for-duty assessment within 30 days, and to comply with any and all recommendations stemming from the evaluation. He also is required to complete a course on professional ethics. Once reinstated, his license will be placed on probation for three years.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
DeSantis poised to sign legislation banning psychedelic mushroom spores in Florida
Psilocybin via Drug Enforcement Administration website Gov. Ron DeSantis said last week that he will soon sign legislation that, among its provisions, would ban trafficking in psychedelic mushroom spores. That measure is part of an omnibus 'Florida Farm Bill' (SB 700) sponsored by Central Florida Republican Keith Truenow that is best known for including a ban on certain additives like fluoride in the drinking water supply. Psilocybin mushrooms are illegal in the United States for possession and sale, because psilocybin is considered a controlled substance. Psilocybin spores, the small reproduction units that get dispersed by fungi, are legal, however, because they don't contain psilocybin, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. As the bill's House analysis says, 'Certain mushroom spores and mycelium, which is a type of fungi, can be propagated and grown into mushrooms that have psilocybin properties. But the spores do not contain any psilocybin properties themselves and therefore could be considered legal under current law.' A violation of the new ban would be a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of $1,000. The decision is disappointing to those who believe the use of psychedelic mushrooms can help people experiencing treatment-resistant depression. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2018 bestowed a 'breakthrough-therapy' designation to a British life sciences company for its psilocybin therapy for treatment-resistant depression. The FDA designates a drug as such if preliminary clinical evidence shows it may demonstrate substantial improvement over available therapy. Small clinical trials have shown that individual doses of psilocybin, given in a therapeutic setting, can make major changes in people suffering from treatment-resistant major depressive disorder, CNN reported in 2022. That's what led former Miami Beach Democrat Mike Grieco to introduce legislation back when he served in the Florida House of Representatives a few years ago to direct the Florida Department of Health and the Board of Medicine to study the therapeutic efficacy of alternative therapies like psilocybin. That legislation didn't advance. 'Despite my legislation from a few years ago not gaining traction, we have seen throughout the country and internationally expanded acceptance of psilocybin and other psychedelics in the mental health and the therapeutic space,' Grieco told the Phoenix. 'It's a shame that Florida has not taken advantage of the psilocybin redesignation by the FDA that allows for research and clinical studies. I would love to see our state make these therapies available to our veterans and first responder organizations.' Grieco's bill called for the Department of Health, in collaboration with the Board of Medicine, to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of alternative therapies, including the use of MDMA (a/k/a ecstasy), psilocybin, and ketamine in treating mental and other medical conditions, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder, chronic pain, and migraines. A significant setback for the movement to bring psychedelics into the mainstream of mental health care took place last summer after the FDA opted not to approve MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD. Instead, the agency asked Lykos Therapeutics to further study the safety and efficacy of the treatment, according to CNN. As the House bill analysis says, 'psilocybin, also known as 'magic mushrooms,' are naturally occurring and consumed for their hallucinogenic effects.' Under Florida law, psilocybin and psilocyn are classified as Schedule I substances. Possession of psilocybin in Florida is a third-degree felony. Those who work in the psychedelic space think it's a poor move by the Legislature. 'Florida is trying to outlaw the literal roots of the psychedelic renaissance — the mycelium that connects hope, healing, and nature itself,' said Peter Sessa, a lead organizer for Cannadelic Miami, a cannabis and psychadelics expo that will take place later this month at the Miami Airport Convention Center. 'This bill doesn't just ban mushroom spores – it bans connection, curiosity, and the future of mental health.' Carlos Hermida owns Chillum Mushrooms and Hemp Dispensary, which has locations in Tampa and St. Petersburg. 'I don't think lawmakers should be making the potentiality of something illegal,' he contends. 'Are we going to start making it illegal because we think someone could grow up to rob a liquor store or something like that?' Hermida adds that Mycelium is a fungus that grows in the ground. 'This particular fungus grows in manure. Is manure now illegal in Florida? Is rotting manure now illegal. Is that what's going on?' There was no public debate on the provision during discussion of the farm bill in the Legislature. It consists of just eight lines in the 111-page bill. In recent years, Oregon and Colorado passed legislation decriminalizing psilocybin and legalizing its supervised use. Cities like Berkeley, Seattle, and Detroit have also decriminalized the psychedelic mushrooms. Calls to U.S. poison centers involving psilocybin among adolescents and young adults rose sharply after several U.S. cities and states began decriminalizing the substance, University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers found in a 2024 study. Ellen Snelling of the Hillsborough County Anti-Drug Alliance said that she wasn't that familiar with the measure banning psilocybin spores, but had a bigger concern about alternatives to psilocybin. 'A variety of psychedelic mushroom products are sold in smoke shops in Florida. An emergency room doctor told me he's seeing more people coming in after using mushrooms,' she said. Once the measure is signed by DeSantis, Florida will join states like Georgia and Idaho in tightening regulations on psychedelic mushroom spores. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Miami Herald
08-05-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
Brazilian butt lift ban for Miami doctor after a death. Where's he working now?
The Miami area surgeon in a 2023 Brazilian butt lift death has performed his last legal BBL surgery in Florida after the state's Board of Medicine approved his punishment. Dr. Ernesto Torres will also pay $15,229 — a $10,000 fine and $5,229 in reimbursement of the Florida Department of Health's case costs. He also has to complete five hours of continuing medical education in laws, rules and ethics. The next section of the settlement agreement says Torres' 'practice is permanently restricted to prohibit [Torres] from performing gluteal fat transfer/Brazilian Butt Lifts (BBLs).' This is the first discipline for Torres since he became licensed in Florida on Aug. 31, 2012. READ MORE: Unfit gas passer in Broward butt-lift death lost her license. Surgeon John Nees hasn't The address on Torres' license is now that of Towers Medical Center, 1695 NW 110th Ave. Under 'Meet Our Surgeon,' the Towers website says Torres now handles 'hernias such as umbilical hernia, incisional hernia, epigastric hernia, and inguinal hernias minimally invasive. Other surgeries performed by Dr. Torres are gallbladder surgery, colon surgery, laparoscopic appendectomy, and much more.' The surgery occurred at what was then Jireh Cosmetic Center Corp.'s Miami Lakes Plastic Surgery, 15450 New Barn Rd., suite 106. State records say Jireh Cosmetic Center still has a license at that location, but now is doing business as Serenity Lakes Surgery and Beauty. Torres is still listed as a physician. Torres hasn't answered a phone message or an email from the Miami Herald about the surgery or the final order. MORE: Violations by a Miami doctor led to a Brazilian butt lift death, state complaint says The fatal Brazilian butt lift According to the Florida Department of Health's administrative complaint, a 32-year-old patient went to Miami Lakes Plastic Surgery for a gluteal fat grafting, commonly called a 'Brazilian butt lift.' Fat is taken from the waist and back via liposuction and injected into the buttocks. But the fat can't be injected into the actual glute muscles. That's against Florida administrative code because it can cause blood clots that block blood flow into the lungs, bilateral pulmonary embolism, which can be fatal. The complaint said that's what happened here. Torres injected fat into the patient's glute muscles, her heart began beating rapidly, her blood pressure dropped and she suffered cardiac arrest. She died that night. The autopsy named bilateral pulmonary fat emboli as the cause of death, with fat graft in several glute muscles and next to sciatic nerves.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
No vax, no mask, but still service
The N95 respirator is a "respiratory protective device designed to achieve a very close facial fit and very efficient filtration of airborne particles." Credit: U.S. Food and Drug Administration. A push to require doctors to treat unvaccinated patients fell short on the final day of the Florida Legislature's regular session but lawmakers did agree to pass a priority healthcare package for Gov. Ron DeSantis. The House on Friday voted unanimously for final approval of HB 1299. The bill extends the legal definition of mRNA vaccines and continues a ban on businesses, government entities, and education institutions from denying entry or service based on vaccination status. Mask requirements are also banned under the law, which DeSantis persuaded the Legislature to approve in 2021. But legislators stripped a mandate from the bill that physicians treat patients regardless of vaccination status after Republican Sen. Gayle Harrell, Democratic Sen. Lori Berman, and independent Sen. Jason Pizzo expressed discomfort with the requirement. Harrell, whose late husband was a physician, warned that the requirement would open doctors to increased liability. Pizzo said the mandate would have contradicted a law that guarantees Florida physicians legal protections to not treat patients on the basis of their conscience. HB 1299 also tweaks a 2024 law that banned the Board of Medicine from licensing by 'endorsement' physicians who have been reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank, which includes information on medical malpractice settlements. HB 1299 makes clear that the Board of Medicine (BOM) can approve licenses by endorsement based on data bank files as long as the reported incident didn't violate any state law or rule. Licensure by endorsement is the route to practice in Florida for doctors initially licensed in other states. The Board of Medicine opposed the changes in the 2024 law and even contemplated asking the governor to veto the bill. Sen. Jay Collins, sponsor of the Senate companion bill, said he worked with the board to iron out the language. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill mandating child abuse education for health providers rejected by New Hampshire House
House Bill 493 would've required physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants treating patients age 18 or younger to complete child abuse and neglect education. (Getty Images) The New Hampshire House of Representatives voted, 193-177, Thursday to kill a bipartisan proposal aimed at strengthening child abuse and neglect training among medical providers. Rep. Carol McGuire, an Epsom Republican, called the bill 'a very well-meaning bill that is totally impossible to implement' and 'unnecessary.' House Bill 493, sponsored by Concord Democrat Rep. Gabby Grossman, would've required physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants treating patients age 18 or younger to complete child abuse and neglect education. That education would've had to be at least one hour, and be accredited and recognized by the New Hampshire chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics as addressing the necessary subject matter. The bill was amended since it was first introduced. McGuire took issue with the fact that the bill has the Board of Medicine mandating the training for nurse practitioners, who are governed by the Board of Nursing. She also noted that the Board of Medicine and Board of Nursing can both already require this training themselves, and she said she's heard from the employers of doctors and nurse practitioners who say they already often require their employees to do this type of training. She pointed out that a version of the training has already been made available for free online — by HB 493's sponsors — that providers can decide to do on their own. Still, supporters wanted the training mandated and didn't want to wait on the boards or employers of providers. 'This bill is the result of findings that include that there are New Hampshire children that have been abused or neglected but have been missed or not reported by New Hampshire health providers with tragic outcomes,' one of the bill's supporters, Derry Republican Rep. Jodi Nelson, said. 'And that voluntary training in identifying and reporting child abuse and neglect has been made available to New Hampshire health care providers but very few have enrolled.' Nelson said she'd heard stories of infants arriving at the hospital with atypical bruises and debilitating disabilities that weren't reported to the authorities at the Division for Children, Youth, and Families. She said the issue 'isn't New Hampshire specific; it's a problem throughout the U.S.' This isn't the first time lawmakers have tried to enact this rule. In 2024, House Bill 1590, a similar piece of legislation, was introduced in the House but failed to become law. It referred the bill to interim study, and as a result, lawmakers brought forth HB 493 in 2025, an altered version of the previous attempt.
