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News Release — June 8, 2012
MEDICAL BOARD OF CALIFORNIA
June 8, 2012
Medical Board investigation leads to criminal charges
against four suspects for practicing medicine without a license
SACRAMENTO — After being served with an Accusation of misconduct by the Medical Board of California, former Newport Beach physician, Jonathan Sadai surrendered his license to practice medicine. "The mission of the Medical Board is public protection, and this action reflects the Board's ongoing commitment to that mission," said Linda Whitney, executive director of the Medical Board.
In July 2008, after receiving negative results to allergy testing performed by a physician at Kaiser Permanente, a patient presented to Sadai for a second opinion. Sadai examined the patient and drew blood, explaining to the patient he would be sending her test results to an outside laboratory that was using a new testing method. A few weeks later, the patient requested her test results, and Sadai sent her a form listing several food and environmental allergens and her reaction to each. The results were listed as +1 through +4, showing the patient to be severely reactive to more than 50 allergens. Because of the discrepancy the patient returned to her Kaiser doctor for retesting. The results were again negative for the food and environmental allergens tested. The patient requested a copy of the actual lab results from Sadai.
In the meantime, the patient consulted with another non-Kaiser physician for allergy testing, and the results were again negative. The patient again requested from Sadai a copy of the actual laboratory test results. Sadai sent an incorrectly dated chart note and another copy of the previously sent form results. In November 2008, after receiving a complaint from the patient, the Medical Board sent Sadai a request for a certified copy of his medical records for this patient. The Board received a certification, signed under penalty of perjury, accompanied by a letter stating the laboratory report was included, a copy of a letter sent to the patient, a two-sided copy of the patient’s test results, and a two-sided copy of his incorrectly dated chart notes for his examination of the patient in July 2008. In December, Sadai sent the patient what he described as the "actual lab report.” It was the same template as the first test results; however, this one used a range of numbers from 50 – 730 in place of the +1 through +4 numbers.
The Board initiated an investigation in June 2009. During the investigation, Sadai told a Board investigator that the patient’s testing was done on a machine in the back of a van in his parking lot. Sadai also stated he did not know the qualifications of the person performing the testing. Sadai stated the machine did not provide a printout of the test results and that he had written the results down from a screen on the machine. Sadai provided the Board with a phone number for the person who performed the testing; however, the phone number had been out of service since 1998, and Sadai was unable to provide any other information.
At the completion of their investigation, the Medical Board filed an Accusation, dated 11/17/10. The Board accused Sadai of violating Business and Professions (B&P) Code sections 2234(e) (Dishonesty or Corruption),; 2262 (Fraudulent Medical Records); 2261 (False Medical Records); 2234(b) (Gross Negligence); 2234(c) (Repeated Negligent Acts); 2234(d) (Incompetence); 2266 (Failure to Maintain Adequate and Accurate Medical Records; 2225.5 (Failure to Provide Medical Records to Patient and Failure to Provide Medical Records to the Board); and 2234 (General Unprofessional Conduct).
The Accusation filed by the Board alleges the following: Sadai did not perform any allergy testing, he charged for services he did not perform, he created false documents of the test results, he created additional false documents when the patient was not satisfied with the first set, telling the patient they were the actual test results, he told a Medical Board investigator he had performed the tests on a machine in his office, and also that the allergy testing was done on a machine in the back of a van. He allowed the testing to be performed by a person for which he had no knowledge of their qualifications, licensure, or competency, or any knowledge of the reliability of the equipment, and he falsely stated, under penalty of perjury, that he had provided a true and complete copy of his records for the patient.
In July 2011, Sadai stipulated to the surrender of his medical license. The Stipulated Surrender of License and Disciplinary Order was adopted by the Medical Board, effective October 27, 2011.
The public record documents in this case can be accessed on our Web site at www.mbc.ca.gov under the heading “Enforcement Public Documents.”
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The mission of the Medical Board is to protect health care consumers through the proper licensing and regulation of physicians and surgeons and certain allied health care professions and through the vigorous, objective enforcement of the Medical Practice Act, and, to promote access to quality medical care through the Board's licensing and regulatory functions.
If you have a question or complaint about the health care you are receiving, the Board encourages you to visit its Web site at www.mbc.ca.gov or call the Consumer Information Line at (916) 263-2382 or (800) 633-2322.
For up-to-date information on Board activities, please join our "Subscribers' List" at www.mbc.ca.gov/subscribers.html.
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