A doctor in Florida is under scrutiny from state officials after it was alleged that his negligence in wearing hearing aids during a colonoscopy resulted in a patient crying out in pain.

The Florida Department of Health’s formal complaint, reviewed by YSL News, reveals that gastroenterologist Dr. Ishwari Prasad has been placed on probation by the state’s medical board due to mishaps occurring during two colonoscopies he conducted.

Specifically, at the Tampa Ambulatory Surgery Center in June 2023, Prasad “wrongly assigned” responsibilities to a surgical technician who lacked a medical license. The technician was given instruction by Prasad to carry out at least one improper task, such as inserting or handling the scope, moving instruments over polyps, or extracting polyps or tissue.

Dr. Prasad is hearing-impaired and typically utilizes hearing aids to fulfill the “minimal professional standards of care,” which enable him to hear and interact effectively during medical procedures.

However, during at least one of the documented procedures, Prasad did not wear his hearing aids, hindering effective communication within the surgical team, according to the complaint.

YSL News did not receive an immediate comment from Prasad on Friday.

Doctor unable to detect patient’s cries of pain: complaint

In the second colonoscopy performed by Prasad that day, the patient was not sufficiently sedated, as indicated in the complaint. During the procedure, Prasad began to advance the scope too soon before the patient was adequately prepared, causing the patient to start yelling.

“(Prasad) did not swiftly halt the procedure when it was evident that (the patient) was not fully sedated,” failing to notice this because he could not hear the patient’s cries, as stated in the complaint. Furthermore, tasks were also improperly allocated to an unlicensed technician during this procedure, according to the complaint.

The Miami Herald reported that an emergency restriction order from September disclosed further details about the second procedure, citing that the sedation complications arose due to an issue with the patient’s IV line.

According to the Herald, the order indicated that Prasad “persisted in inserting the scope despite being cautioned to wait and began forcefully advancing the scope into (the patient’s) rectum while (the patient) cried out in pain.”

“(The patient) screamed and shouted that he was experiencing pain and could still feel everything,” the order stated, as cited by the Herald. “Dr. Prasad continued to manipulate the scope despite the ongoing screams from (the patient).”

The report also mentioned that a hospital administrator present in the room advised Prasad to pause, to which Prasad “bent down towards (the patient) and yelled ‘I know!’ in response to the administrator, yet proceeded to move the scope.”

Placed on probation

Dr. Prasad, who has held a medical license in Florida since 1990, is now on probation due to these complaints. He has been fined $7,500 and is also responsible for an additional $6,301 in case costs. As part of his probation, he must complete a five-hour course on continuing medical education focusing on laws, rules, and ethics by August 7, 2025.

During his probation, Prasad is not permitted to conduct any procedures independently until he undergoes competency evaluation by designated programs or completes 10 gastroenterology procedures “under the supervision of a physician” who will then provide a recommendation to the probation committee.