A Bloomfield physician has been sanctioned for the third time in 16 years for practicing in a manner that state regulators consider harmful to the public.
As first reported by the Iowa Capital Dispatch, the Iowa Board of Medicine recently charged Dr. Dorothy Cline-Campbell, a 73-year-old family medicine physician, with professional incompetency, practicing in a manner that is harmful or detrimental to the public, and improper management of medical records.
The board also alleged that Cline-Campbell maintained pre-signed prescription pads and had instructed non-physician staffers to write prescriptions in her absence. In one instance, she allegedly directed the staff to give medications to a patient that had been returned by another patient.
According to the board, a review of more than 50 of Cline-Campbell’s patient charts revealed numerous examples of incomplete, delayed, or unsigned medical records. Some records had also been altered in an attempt to hide late or missing medical information, the board alleged.
The board alleged her lack of complete and accurate medical records demonstrated a pattern of failing to record adequate patient assessments, which called into question whether the appropriate assessments had ever been completed.
At its October meeting, the board voted to fine Cline-Campbell $1,000 and place her license on probation for five years, during which time her practice will be subject to board monitoring.
In 2006, Cline-Campbell was charged by the board with failing to conform to the minimal standards of medical practice and with practicing in a manner that was harmful or detrimental to the public.
At the time, the board alleged that while she served as medical director of the Ultimate Reflections skin care clinic in West Des Moines, her medical practice was based 100 miles away and she failed to make regular visits to the clinic, failed to supervise the non-physician staff, failed to review patient charts, and was unavailable to treat patients in an emergency. As a result, she was fined $1,000 and barred from serving as a medical director of any skincare clinic.
In 2009, the board issued an order requiring Cline-Campbell to complete a comprehensive clinical competency examination. Months later, the board issued an emergency order suspending her practice of medicine, stating that the evaluation had revealed significant deficiencies in her practice of family medicine and emergency medicine. The board also alleged that her continued practice of medicine posed an “immediate danger to the public health, safety or welfare.”
The board charged her with failure to conform with a minimal standard of care and with willfully or repeatedly violating state laws concerning the practice of medicine.
The board claimed Cline-Campbell has failed to either document or provide stabilizing treatment to “numerous patients” who had arrived at a hospital emergency room displaying signs of mental illness or drug overdoses.
The board also alleged she had prescribed medication to a 79-year-old patient who was facing surgery even though the drug created a risk of potentially fatal consequences.
Six months later, the board lifted the suspension after finding that Cline-Campbell had completed “extensive” education to address the board’s concerns. At the time, the board also placed her license on probation for five years, with her practice subject to board monitoring during that time.
In 2016, the board terminated the probationary period and monitoring.
