New York psychiatrist disciplinary actions October-December 2013

December 18, 2013

On October 8, 2013, psychiatrist James Cocores entered into a consent agreement with the New York State Department of Health (NYDoH) to never activate his medical license in the state of New York. The Florida Board of Medicine suspended his license on August 23, 2013 and permanently restricted him from prescribing controlled substances, based on a finding that he failed to meet the prevailing standard of care in the treatment of a patient and failure to keep legible medical records that justified the course of the patient’s treatment. Earlier, on February 22, 2013, Cocores was arrested after a lengthy undercover investigation revealed that he wrote prescriptions for oxycodone for which there was no medical necessity.

On October 16, 2013, the Administrative Review Board of the New York Board for Professional Medical Conduct (ARB) revoked the license of psychiatrist Dham Gupta. This was based on a request by the NYDoH to overturn the initial determination against Gupta, by the Board of Professional Medical Conduct Committee, to suspend Gupta’s license for one year. Both the Committee the ARB determined that Gupta had requested two patients assist him in obtaining sex partners.

On October 17, 2013, the NYDoH placed psychiatrist Samel Saad Wahba on probation for 36 months. The state’s document states that from approximately 2001 through approximately 2012, Wahba failed to render appropriate care and treatment to 12 patients by failing to maintain appropriate records of his evaluation and treatment and by prescribing medications to one patient in an inappropriate manner, among other things.

On October 25, 2013, the NYDoH issued a statement of charges against psychiatrist Renee Lim Ngo, following disciplinary action taken against her by another state. In November 2012, the Nevada Medical Board ordered Ngo to pay a fine of $2,500 plus the Board’s investigation costs of $4,087 relative to allegations that Ngo failed to maintain complete and accurate medical records for five patients.

On October 25, 2013, the NYDoH issued a statement of charges against psychiatrist David John Fischer, relative to discipline taken against him by the state of Maryland, which, in December 2012, reprimanded him and placed him on probation for two years due to findings that he prescribed medication without personally examining and diagnosing the patient on more than one occasion. 

On November 6, 2013, the NYDoH reprimanded and censured psychiatrist Vermon Gary Dorfman and placed him on probation for three years. The NYDoH’s document states that Dorfman failed to render and/or note an appropriate evaluation and/or treatment of several patients and prescribed stimulant medication to the patients in an inappropriate manner and/or without noting an adequate basis in his medical records.

On November 8, 2013, the NYDoH placed psychiatrist Allen Collins on probation for 36 months. The state’s documents states that Collins, on more than one occasion between December 2000 and December 2005, inappropriately made social referrals between “Patient A” and other patients and also failed to maintain a medical records for Patient A which accurately reflected his care and treatment of her.

Effective December 6, 2013, the NYDoH issued an Order of Conditions on psychiatrist Jose Alarcon (which he had applied for) in which he agreed to cease the practice of medicine, clinical or otherwise.