A Kendall doctor fined after the state said he didn’t tell a patient about a fatal issue
A Kendall doctor has to pay a total of $11,426 as part of his professional discipline after, the state said, he failed to make sure a patient learned testing revealed high cholesterol and that the patient was prediabetic.
The cholesterol count played a role in the patient’s heart attack death, according to the administrative complaint against Dr. Edward Suarez by the Florida Department of Health.
The final order by the state Board of Medicine approves a settlement order that fines Suarez $7,500; demands a $3,926 reimbursement of Department of Health investigative costs; five hours of continuing medical education in diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease; and either five hours of a continuing medical education course in risk management or sitting through an eight-hour day of Board of Medicine disciplinary hearings.
Also, a letter of concern will be filed against Suarez’s license, which he’s held in Florida since 1983.
According to Suarez’s online license profile, his previous professional discipline problem came in 1993 for actions with a patient from 1985-89. Suarez was fined $2,000, reprimanded and placed on probation after being accused of continuing to prescribe Dilaudid “at an inappropriate dosage” even after he knew the patient had become addicted to the pain medication.
What was learned and what was told
In the current case, the administrative complaint says, Suarez saw “P.V.” at Kendall Medical Center on May 9, 2017 for an annual exam. P.V. said he felt sluggish periodically. Suarez ordered lab tests that included cholesterol and glucose levels.
Test results came back on May 16, 2017 saying P.V. had high cholesterol and was prediabetic. But Suarez, the complaint said, never relayed this information to P.V.
“[Suarez] failed to meet the prevailing professional standard of care in his treatment of Patient P.V. by failing to communicate or failing to delegate communication to P.V. that his lab results revealed...he had high cholesterol and was prediabetic,” the complaint said.
P.V. died on Oct. 12, 2018 from a heart attack and, the complaint said, “was found to have significant atherosclerotic heart disease.”
The Mayo Clinic says, “Atherosclerosis is the buildup of fats, cholesterol and other substances in and on your artery walls. This buildup is called plaque. The plaque can cause your arteries to narrow, blocking blood flow. The plaque can also burst, leading to a blood clot.”
