Judges: K. N. AYERS
Agency: Department of Business and Professional Regulation
Latest Update: Jun. 28, 1979
Summary: Respondent convicted of felonies before got Florida license. Recommend suspension.
78-1278.PDFSTATE OF FLORIDA
DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
STATE OF FLORIDA, )
)
Petitioner, )
)
vs. ) CASE NO. 78-1278
)
ANWAR LUIS BULAS, M.D., )
)
Respondent. )
)
RECOMMENDED ORDER
Pursuant to notice, the Division of Administrative Hearings, by its duly designated Hearing Officer, K. N. Ayers, held a public hearing in the above styled case on 17 October 1978 at Miami, Florida.
APPEARANCES
For Petitioner: Gerald B. Sternstein, Esquire
610 Lewis State Bank Building Tallahassee, Florida 32301
For Respondent: Roy E. Black, Esquire
150 Southeast 2nd Avenue, Suite 1402 Miami, Florida 33131
and
Henry R. Carr, Esquire 1298 Northwest 10th Avenue Miami, Florida 33136
By Complaint filed 30 June 1978 the Florida State Board of Medical Examiners, Petitioner, seeks to take disciplinary action ajainst the license of Anwar Luis Bulas, M.D., Respondent. As grounds therefore it is alleged that Respondent has been convicted of a felony in the Florida courts, thereby subjecting his license to disciplinary action pursuant to Section 458.1201(1)(c) Florida Statutes. Two witnesses, including Respondent, testified on behalf of Respondent and six exhibits were admitted into evidence.
FINDINGS OF FACT
Respondent graduated from the University of Havana Medical School in 1951 and practiced medicine in Cuba from that time until he immigrated to the United States in 1960. In Cuba his practice was primarily in the fields of obstetrics and gynecology.
In his application dated 9 February 1975 to take the Florida Medical Examination, Respondent listed work at Hudson County Hospital for Mental Diseases (New Jersey) in 1960, work for the American Plasma Company (Miami) from 1965 to 1968, work at the Opa Locka General Hospital from 1967 to 1970, and that he was presently working as assistant doctor at 620 Southwest 1st Street, Miami.
Prior to commencing this work at the Southwest Medical Clinic he contacted Physicians's Association of Clinics, Hospitals and Annex (PACHA), an organization which helps Cuban doctors obtain Florida licenses, and was told he could work at the clinic under Dr. Tomas and should register with the Board of Medical Examiners.
Respondent registered with the Florida State Board of Medical Examiners as an unlicensed physician in two undated registrations, copies of which were admitted into evidence as Exhibit 5. In the earlier registration he states he is not a naturalized citizen and in the later application he states he is a naturalized citizen, although the year of naturalization is not shown.
Anne West, who was apparently running an abortion referral service, called the State's Attorneys office in Miami on behalf of Respondent and was told Respondent could work at the clinic under a licensed doctor. She subsequently became Mrs. Bulas.
Respondent testified he commenced doing medical work in the Miami area in 1975 when he became associated with and worked under the supervision of Kamel Tomas, M.D. in a clinic located at 620 Southwest 1st Street, Miami.
He subsequently worked at this clinic under the supervision of two other licensed doctors whose names are Hernandez and Martin. In 1976 Respondent successfully passed the Florida Medical Examination and was licensed in July 1976.
While working at the clinic on Southwest 1st Street Respondent performed several abortions.
In an 18-count Information filed 23 March 1978 (Exhibit 1) for the period 1 May 1975 through 5 March 1976 Respondent was charged with 11 counts of unlawful practice of medicine, 6 counts of larceny and one count of unlawful termination of pregnancy. At his trial and upon the advice of counsel he pleaded nolo contendere, was found guilty of 10 counts of unlawful practice of medicine, six counts of grand larceny and one count of unlawful termination of pregnancy, and Adjudication of Guilt was withheld (Exhibit 2). Most of these charges alleged felonies.
In Exhibit 3 the court stayed imposition of sentence and placed Respondent on probation for 5 years with a condition of probation that he be confined in the Dade County Jail for a term of one year.
From reading the counts of the Information, as well as from the testimony of Respondent, it is clear that the larcenies alleged resulted from the fees charged by the clinic to those patients treated by Respondent, which formed the bases for the unlawful practice of medicine counts.
The information alleging unlawful termination of pregnancy was based upon the performance of an abortion by Respondent while not licensed in Florida.
The testimony was unrebutted that numerous clinics in Miami employ Cuban doctors who are unlicensed in Florida. In a class conducted at Jackson Memorial Hospital to prepare former Cuban doctors for the Florida examination there were about 460 in the class attended by Respondent, most of whom worked in clinics in Miami.
At the time Respondent worked at the clinic he believed that so long as he was under a licensed doctor the medical work he performed was lawful. However, Respondent was not under the direct supervision of the licensed doctor as each was working on a different patient in separate examining rooms at the same time.
No evidence was presented to indicate Respondent was not fully qualified by training and experience to perform the medical practices that he performed prior to receipt of his Florida license.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over the parties and subject matter of this hearing.
Disciplinary actions against licensed physicians are provided for in Section 458.1201 Florida Statutes which provides the Board of Medical Examiners shall have the authority to deny an application for a license or to discipline a physician licensed under this Chapter for various offenses including:
(c) Being convicted of a felony in the courts of this state or any other state, territory, or country. Conviction as used in this paragraph shall include conviction of an offense which if committed in this state would be deemed a felony without regard to its designation elsewhere, or a criminal proceeding in which a finding or verdict of guilt is made or returned but the adjudication of guilt is either withheld or not entered thereon.
Section 458.15 Florida Statutes provides that the practice of medicine by any person not holding a law fully issued license constitutes a felony. Accordingly, the evidence presented establishes that Respondent was convicted of a felony as alleged.
The disciplinary action to take against the license of Respondent presents another problem. Not only is Respondent's testimony credible that he believed his work in the clinic under the supervision of a licensed physician was lawful, but also this belief has some basis in Section 458.13 Florida Statutes which defines the practice of medicine and lists exemptions therefrom. One of the exemptions is contained in Subsection (3) which provides:
Every person practicing as a resident physician, assistant resident physician, house physician or intern in this state shall register with the State Board of Medical Examiners showing the date upon which he started to practice as aforesaid within this state. Every hospital employing a resident physician, assistant resident physician, house physician or intern shall, on January 1 and July 1 of each year, furnish the State Board of Medical Examiners with a list of their employees and such other information as the board may direct. Unless previously
authorized by the board no person may be employed as a house resident physician, or an intern in a hospital of this state for more than 2 years without a license, except that resident physicians, assistant resident physicians and interns in approved training programs shall be exempt from this limitation. Any person violating this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
While it may successfully and correctly be contended that a clinic is not a hospital and the above quoted provision is applicable only to hospitals, there are outpatient clinics and inpatient clinics and the latter obviously has some of the attributes of a hospital. Here Respondent registered with the Board of Medical Examiners when he went to work at the Southwest Medical Clinic and this registration was submitted pursuant to advice he had received from PACHA that by so registering he was authorized to practice under a licensed physician. Apparently many other unlicensed practitioners in the Miami area, who are applying for licensure in Florida, are engaged in the practice of medicine under the same assumption.
While the guilt of Respondent of practicing medicine without a license is not subject to collateral attack in these proceedings, the comments of the Supreme Court in Reams v. State, 279 So.2d 893 (Fla. 1973) are pertinent:
Under the Medical Practices Act the State is required to prove only the elements of the crime charged: that Defendant is not a licensed physician but that he practiced medicine within the statutory definition.
Exceptions to the Act must be raised and proved by the defense.
Furthermore, it is not a well kept secret that many physicians sincerely believe, albeit erroneously, that they can authorize an assistant working under their supervision to perform any medical tasks for which the assistant is qualified, even though this assistant is not licensed. It is therefore quite credible that Respondent was told by people he believed had authority to tell him that he could legally engage in acts constituting the practice of medicine while working at the Southwest Medical Clinic.
From the foregoing it is concluded that Anwar Luis Bulas was convicted of a felony by the courts of this state as alleged in the complaint. It is therefore
RECOMMENDED that the license of Anwar Luis Bulas, M.D., be suspended for a period of six months.
Done and entered this 17th day of November, 1978.
K. N. AYERS, Hearing Officer Division of Administrative Hearings Room 101, Collins Building Tallahassee, Florida 32301
(904) 488-9675
COPIES FURNISHED:
Gerald B. Sternstein, Esquire 610 Lewis State Bank Building Tallahassee, Florida 32301
Roy E. Black, Esquire
150 Southeast 2nd Avenue, Suite 1402 Miami, Florida 33131
Henry R. Carr, Esquire 1298 Northwest 10th Avenue Miami, Florida 33136
================================================================= AGENCY FINAL ORDER
=================================================================
STATE OF FLORIDA
DEPARTMENT OF PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL REGULATION STATE BOARD OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS OF FLORIDA
In re:
The license to practice medicine of:
ANVAR LUIS BULAS, M.D.
620 Southwest 1st Street
Miami, Florida 33130 DOAH Case No. 78-1278
License No. 28878 as a physician.
/
FINAL ORDER
BASED upon the refusal of the hearing officer appointed by the Division of Administrative Hearings to accept the remand of this Board, the recommended order of the hearing officer dated November 17, 1978 , was presented to the full Board in Miami, Dade County, Florida, on June 8, 1979. The licensee was present with counsel.
A motion to dismiss was filed by the licensee, and, after full consideration, said motion was denied.
With respect to the findings of fact, the Board, on public record, noted its disagreement with the last three paragraphs of the findings of fact contained on page 4 of the recommended order.
With respect to the conclusions of law, the Board, on public record, specifically disagreed with the hearing officer's comparison of clinics and hospitals as set forth in the last paragraph on page 5 and the first paragraph on page 6 of the recommended order.
Having considered the entire record, including the exceptions to the recommended order, it is
CONSIDERED, ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the findings of fact subject to the exceptions noted above, and the conclusions of law subject to the exceptions noted above, are iereby adopted as the final order of the Board.
Based upon the findings of fact, and the conclusions of law, and upon the determination on the record that the licensee was released from prison on February 23, 1979 it is,
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the recommendation of the hearing office in his recommended order of November 17, 1978, is hereby adopted as the final order of the Board, and the license to practice medicine and surgery in this state of Anvar L. Bulas, M.D., is hereby suspended for a period of six months to commence retroactively with his release from prison. As such, the suspension shall remain in full force and effect up to and including August 22, 1979.
DONE AND ORDERED this 21st day of June, 1979.
SEAL
SECRETARY
I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true copy of the foregoing has been forwarded this 25th day of June, 1979, to:
Roy E. Black, Esquire Gerald Sternstein, Esquire
150 Southeast 2nd Avenue Suite 1402 Prosecuting Attorney Miami, Florida 33131 Post Office Box 1123
Tallahassee, FL 32302
Henry Carr, Esquire
1298 Northwest 10th Avenue
Miami, Florida Michael Schwartz, Esquire Suite 201 Ellis Building
ATTORNEYS FOR LICENSEE Tallahassee, FL 32301
GEORGE S. PALMER, M. D.
Docket for Case No: 78-001278
Orders for Case No: 78-001278
| Issue Date |
Document |
Summary |
|
Jun. 21, 1979 |
Agency Final Order
|
|
|
Nov. 17, 1978 |
Recommended Order
|
Respondent convicted of felonies before got Florida license. Recommend suspension.
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