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Dubuque doctor accused of incompetence in 2017 is fined $5,000

['Clark Kauffman', 'More From Author', '- February']

Date: 2022-02-24 00:00:00


More than four years after accusing a Dubuque physician of professional incompetence and violating numerous patient-care standards, a state licensing board has settled the case with a $5,000 fine.

Some of the alleged violations involved care that was provided for patients 12 years ago, in 2010.

On Dec. 15, 2017, the Iowa Board of Medicine filed a statement of charges against Dr. George B. Isaac, an Iowa-licensed physician who practices rheumatology in Dubuque, accusing him of professional incompetence.

The board alleged Isaac, now 62, had failed to provide appropriate medical care to multiple patients between 2010 and 2015. He was alleged to have prescribed medications such as Adderall, Dextroamphetamine, Meridia, and Nuvigil or Provigil to patients without documenting the appropriate diagnoses for those drugs and without monitoring.

He also was accused of failing to maintain accurate, complete and timely medical records for patients; for treating patients who were receiving narcotics or sedatives or antidepressants without discussing the potential risks and potential drug interactions; for treating patients who were receiving narcotics from other providers without first coordinating the patients’ care with those providers; for failing to explore or recommend non-pharmacological treatment options for patients; for failing to provide appropriate chronic pain management to patients; and for violating the standards of practice related to pain management.

Earlier this week, the board announced it had reached a settlement with Isaac.

Under the terms of the agreement, the board issued Isaac a warning and ordered him to pay a $5,000 civil penalty.

The board also ordered Isaac to complete board-approved educational courses in chronic pain management recordkeeping. The board also placed Isaac in a physician-monitoring program for a period of two years, during which time his prescribing practices will be subject to periodic audits.

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