Pittsburgh Area Docs Let Licenses Lapse

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Two physicians in the Allegheny Health Network failed to timely renew their licenses and one of them performed 35 procedures early this year while his license had lapsed.
In two separate reports made public recently, surveyors from the Pennsylvania Health Department faulted the hospitals for failure to ensure that physicians on their staffs maintained their licenses.
One of the doctors at the West Penn Hospital performed general surgical procedures on two patients without a license, while a doctor at Forbes Hospital performed general gastrointestinal procedures on 36 patients.
Neither physician was named but the Forbes physician's license expired on Dec. 31, 2018 and was not renewed until Jan. 22 of this year. The West Penn physician's license also expired at the end of 2018 and was not renewed until Jan. 18 of this year.
Dan Laurent, an Allegheny Health Network spokesman, said the lapses had no effect on patient care "therefore patient notification was not warranted."
He said the hospitals already had a "robust credentialing process," but some modifications were made to prevent a recurrence.
He said the hospitals themselves had reported the two recent lapses as soon as they were detected.
"We consider the matter fully resolved at this point," he said in a statement.
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