License of Ephrata doctor suspended
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 10 months AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | May 18, 2020 11:59 PM
EPHRATA — The license of an Ephrata physician has been suspended, the Washington Medical Commission announced Monday.
A panel of the Washington Medical Commission ruled that Dr. Mohammad Said has a medical condition that impedes his ability to treat patients.
Said denied the medical commission’s conclusions, and said he would file an appeal. He has 20 days to respond.
He claimed the conclusions reached by the commission were untrue.
The suspension follows a series of tests in summer 2019 that indicated Said might be having trouble with short-term memory, according to information from the Washington Department of Health.
Said underwent three tests in July and August 2019, according to DOH, and the results showed a medical condition, although the nature of the condition was redacted.
The Department of Health said Said asked that information on the alleged condition be removed from his medical records.
After another test in September 2019, representatives with the Washington Physician Health Program suggested that Said stop practicing until more testing was done. Said refused, DOH said.
In a letter he said he will send to the medical commission, Said denied he had any impairment that would affect his ability to practice medicine. Rather than relying solely on the test, medical commission officials should examine his work to evaluate his competence, he said.
Said said he has some memory loss, but he attributed that to his age. He said he has undergone two MRIs in the last year that indicate his condition is in the normal range for his age.
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