Nevada Clinics Operator Surrenders Medical License
Dr. Dipak Desai had voluntarily agreed not to practice medicine, but Wednesday's unanimous acceptance of his surrendered license by the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners is "absolute and irrevocable," the board stated.
The man who ran clinics in the Las Vegas area linked to a hepatitis C outbreak has surrendered his license to practice medicine in Nevada. The Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners announced it accepted the surrender by Dr. Dipak Desai on Wednesday, saying it is "absolute and irrevocable" but will not preclude the board from proceeding with a pending disciplinary complaint against Desai involving the outbreak at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, where Desai was the majority owner, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
"The surrender was made based on Dr. Desai not being competent to safely practice medicine due to physical and mental impairments arising from a series of strokes," the board's statement says.
Health officials have linked nine HCV cases to clinics run by Desai, with 106 additional cases possibly linked. But officials alerted around 40,000 former patients in 2008 they might have been exposed to infectious diseases because nurse anesthetists at the clinics allegedly reused single-dose medicine vials among their patients.
The Las Vegas newspapers have reported the Clark County district attorney has said he plans to take the matter before a grand jury. Civil lawsuits also have been filed against Desai by former patients.