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News Release — October 6, 2004
MEDICAL BOARD OF CALIFORNIA
October 6, 2004
Medical Board of California Obtains
Suspension of Soledad Physician's License
SACRAMENTO—On October 4, 2004, Administrative Law Judge Jonathan Lew signed an order which prohibits Soledad physician Isaac A. Grillo, M.D. from practicing medicine; possessing, prescribing, dispensing, furnishing, administering, or otherwise distributing any controlled substance or any dangerous drug; and possessing or holding his physician wall and wallet certificates, any triplicates and regular prescription blanks, DEA order forms, and any DEA permits. Grillo has been ordered to appear at the Office of Administrative Hearings in Oakland on October 22, 2004 to show cause why the suspension of his license to practice medicine should not be extended.
The Medical Board had filed an accusation against Grillo alleging unprofessional conduct through gross negligence and incompetence in that he failed to diagnose a cervical spinal injury of a prisoner at Soledad prison who had suffered a subluxation of C4-C5, resulting in quadriplegia. The board later adopted a stipulated settlement and disciplinary order, which imposed a public letter of reprimand with a condition precedent: successful completion of Phases I and II of the Physician Assessment and Clinical Education (PACE) program at the University of California at San Diego.
In a September 8, 2004 communication to the board from the Director and Associate Director of the UCSD Pace Program, the board was informed that serious deficiencies were noted during Grillo's assessment by the PACE faculty/staff. The assessment report noted that at a multi-disciplinary staff meeting on September 1, 2004, the director and other participants "expressed grave reservations about whether Dr. Grillo should be practicing medicine" and that the "deficiencies documented during his two-day Phase-1 PACE Assessment, if applied in the real world of medical practice, would almost certainly have resulted in patient harm, and perhaps even death." The report also stated that Grillo's serious deficiencies of clinical knowledge and judgment extended beyond the limited scope of the PACE Program's five-day clinical education and that as a result, "may require additional training or monitoring either in residency, fellowship, or some other proctored environment."
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The mission of the Medical Board is to protect healthcare consumers through the proper licensing and regulation of physicians and surgeons and certain allied healthcare professions and through the vigorous, objective enforcement of the Medical Practice Act.
If you have a question or complaint about the healthcare you are receiving, the board encourages you to visit its Web site at www.caldocinfo.ca.gov or for questions call the Consumer Information Line at (916) 263-2382, or with complaints call (800) 633-2322.
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