RI Health Defends Handling of Controversial Dr. Cited for Sex with Patient & Improper Drugs Scripts
Monday, February 24, 2020
The Rhode Island Department of Health (DOH) is defending its handling of the disciplinary actions against controversial physician Stephen Petteruti. Neither Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health nor Dr. James Monti of the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline would respond to questions.
Over the years Petteruti has been disciplined multiple times for a range of significant violations including having sex with a patient, improperly prescribing Oxycodone, ordering unnecessary tests, and false advertising claims.
The most recent consent decree signed by Petteruti and the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline paves the way, once again, for him to recover his license early if he takes certain actions. While the Department of Health suspended his license for five years, the state agency gave him "120 days" to serve, with the remaining 56 months on probation. The order was signed on October 10, 2019.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTPetturuti has hosted radio shows on WPRO, has had pay-to-play appearances on WPRI’s The Rhode Show, and most recently hosted a show on social media.
DOH spokesman Joseph Wendelken says, "Based on the findings of an investigation, the license of this healthcare provider was immediately suspended in September, and the Board then laid out the details of that suspension in a consent decree in October. He is still suspended. To respond to your question about the vigorousness of the Board, these are among the most significant disciplinary actions we have the authority to take. (We do not have the authority to issue fines.)"
"There is no guarantee that Dr. Petteruti will be relicensed. What the Board has done is present Dr. Petteruti with a set of steps that he would need to take before he can be re-licensed. Should he be relicensed in the future, he would be subject to strict monitoring. This consent decree was fair to Dr. Petteruti, while also protecting public health," said Wendelken.
Petteruti has faced disciplinary actions by the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline going back to 1997 -- the first time the doctor was suspended.
"After doing an investigation the Board determined that, at this time, this individual’s continued licensure presented health and safety concerns. For that reason, his license was suspended until he can demonstrate that that is not the case. The Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline protects public health by doing exactly this – by not allowing a physician to practice if health and safety concerns exist," said Wendelken.
Petteruti's Practice Today
Petterutti told GoLocal last Thursday night, "Going forward I’m going to continue to do the type of medicine I’ve done in the past, but I’ll include what the Department of Health has required. Can complementary medicine coexist with convention medicine is really the story here — there’s a battle between conventional medicine and complementary care. I think it’s human nature to scrutinize. But if doctors avoid engaging their patients, we will leave the arena vacant for anyone to enter. This is universal — this is a fundamental change in the way people access health information. So doctors need to engage patients in that space."
Presently, Petteruti's company markets under the brand name Intellectual Medicine 120 or IM 120. The tagline is “GO OUT AND BE THE BEST VERSION OF YOURSELF!”
"I want to be that space that doctors can send their patients for honest straightforward care — patients are searching for things that may help, especially in the field of oncology. My dream is to have the drip bar to be in parallel with conventional medicine, so a doctor who might say we might not know everything about the IV drop bar but I can refer you to them."
"I wish this was all over last week, but it's up to the Department of Health — I’m following the path in front of me. One of the ways you survive hardship is lowering the site line to the step right in front of you. The drip bar is still open and running — and I give credit to the Department of Health's openness in that regard — this really is a new norm for people to choose to pursue," said Petteruti in a phone interview.
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