Pralay Mazumdar psychiatrist suspended – VCAT decision, November 2017

Practitioner update · Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal

On 30 November 2017 the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal found psychiatrist Dr Pralay Mazumdar had engaged in professional misconduct and unprofessional conduct, reprimanded him, suspended his registration for six months and imposed conditions on his return to practice, in Medical Board of Australia v Mazumdar (Review and Regulation) (Corrected) [2017] VCAT 1965.

Decision: Medical Board of Australia v Mazumdar [2017] VCAT 1965
Tribunal: VCAT, Review and Regulation List
Decision date: 30 November 2017 (corrected 18 December 2017)
Outcome: Reprimand, six-month suspension, conditions

What the matter concerned

The Medical Board of Australia referred two allegations to the Tribunal. The first was that Dr Mazumdar’s criminal convictions under the Accident Compensation Act 1985 (Vic) amounted to professional misconduct. The second was that he did not notify the Board, as the National Law requires, that his clinical privileges at a private clinic had been suspended in September 2013.

The matter proceeded on an agreed statement of facts and a joint submission from the parties on findings and orders.

The agreed facts

According to the agreed facts set out in the decision:

In September 2013 the clinic suspended Dr Mazumdar’s clinical privileges and made a mandatory notification to Ahpra about his billing.
Following an investigation by the Victorian WorkCover Authority, Dr Mazumdar pleaded guilty in the Magistrates’ Court in December 2014 to six charges, including fraudulently obtaining payments and providing false or misleading information.
The offending involved overcharging the WorkCover Authority on 114 occasions between March 2012 and September 2013, totalling $44,539.78. It included billing consultations as longer than they were, billing for family members who attended as support persons, and extending inpatient stays without clinical need.
On appeal in August 2015, the County Court again convicted him and replaced a wholly suspended prison sentence with a two-year community corrections order, including 350 hours of community work. The $5,000 fine remained. Dr Mazumdar paid full restitution.

The Tribunal's findings

The Tribunal found that the conduct behind the convictions was professional misconduct, and that the failure to notify the Board was unprofessional conduct. It described the offending as serious dishonest conduct, committed in a sustained, conscious and deliberate manner, and found Dr Mazumdar’s explanation for not notifying the Board was not credible.

The Tribunal noted that the allegations did not reflect on his clinical skill in diagnosing and treating patients. It accepted that he had no prior disciplinary record, had pleaded guilty early, had apologised, had expressed remorse, and had continued to provide psychiatric services to rural and Indigenous communities. It also received evidence from colleagues who supported him.

Orders

The Tribunal ordered that:

Dr Mazumdar is reprimanded.
His registration is suspended for six months from 1 January 2018, and he may not return to practice until he has completed Board-approved education on ethical conduct and billing.
After his return to practice, his registration is subject to conditions for 12 months, including monthly mentoring and audits of his billing every four months.
The review period for the conditions is 19 months.