He wrote prescriptions and did medical procedures. That’s why he got arrested

The physician assistant at Doral’s Med-Clinic Health Care thought it a bit odd that others would ask her to sign prescriptions even if Dr. Jose Ramirez, the clinic’s president, was around. Then, she knew something was rotten in Doral when she saw Ramirez sign a prescription in another doctor’s name.

Jose Ramirez isn’t a licensed doctor in Florida or, according to records, anywhere else.

That led to Ramirez’s arrest on Thursday in which he is accused of practicing medicine without a license, posing as a physician and possession of a blank prescription form. Last week, authoirities made another arrest over an unlicensed medical practice. Karim Cordovarivera was arrested Oct. 3 and charged with performing unlicensed dentistry out of a house north of Allapattah.

Med-Clinic, incorporated in 2010, originally was at 9588 NW 41st St. in Doral before moving in to 10800 NW 58th St. in 2015. According to the Florida Department of Health’s license verification webpage, Med-Clinic has no license to operate as any kind of medical facility. Though Med-Clinic’s website carries the logo of the Urgent Care Association of America, a search of UCAOA accredited or certified locations in Doral comes up empty.

Despite the lack of licensing, Med-Clinic’s website invites those ailing from broken bones, sprains and urinary infections along with common problems often handled by over-the-counter medication and rest (cold, fever, flu symptoms, etc.). And the physician assistant told police, according to Ramirez’s arrest warrant, “she personally witnessed Ramirez performing medical procedures such as infiltrations, wart removal, suturing of lacerations and the administration of intravenous medication.”

Doral police believe Ramirez served many who might be immigrants, underinsured and afraid to come forward. Still, police want anyone who Ramirez might have treated to call 305-593-6699.

The arrest warrant translates and quotes a passage from an article on Ramirez from the Spanish-language website DoralNewsOnline.com in which Ramirez says, “Our goal is to give the immigrant a hand when he or she has a medical problem and does not have the money for a visit or for the high costs of an emergency room.”

This story was originally published October 12, 2017 at 1:41 PM with the headline "He wrote prescriptions and did medical procedures. That’s why he got arrested."