State medical examining board suspends physician’s license
A Las Vegas physician has had her license suspended by the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners for allowing an employee to practice medicine without a license.
Dr. Carmen Felice Jones, who had worked as the medical director for the Las Vegas Health Center at 6332 S. Rainbow Blvd. since 2012, had allowed Zeeshan Malik Hoodbhoy to prescribe, administer and dispense controlled substances without a license, according to the board’s April 19 order to summarily suspend Jones’ license.
Neither Jones nor Hoodbhoy was available for comment Tuesday. A spokeswoman at Las Vegas Health Center said Jones was out of the office “on an emergency.”
According to the order signed by Dr. Benjamin Rodriguez, chairman of the board’s investigative committee, Hoodbhoy also illegally used the authorized signature stamp of Jones and her federal DEA registration number on multiple prescriptions.
On Monday Washoe County District Court Judge Jerome Polaha entered a temporary restraining order against Hoodbhoy, preventing his unlicensed practice of medicine as requested by the medical board. A hearing on the board’s request for a permanent injunction is set for May 3.
Douglas Cooper, executive director of the medical board, said Las Vegas police, the state pharmacy board and the medical board worked together to uncover the actions of Jones and Hoodbhoy.
“He (Hoodbhoy) saw hundreds of patients,” Cooper said.
The suspension order also said Jones admitted being the medical director at another Southern Nevada health services office, Agape Health, where “she never met the patients, never treated the patients and also allowed staff, unlicensed persons to treat and inject patients with controlled substances.”
Attempts to reach Agape Health officials were unsuccessful.
Board records showed Jones’ speciality is pediatrics and that she graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical School in 1991.
Contact reporter Paul Harasim at pharasim@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2908.
