Elderly doctor couldn’t hear patient’s screams during colonoscopy — because he wasn’t wearing hearing aid, board finds

An elderly Tampa gastroenterologist is on probation after he failed to hear a patient screaming during a colonoscopy.

After 34 years with a medical license, Dr Ishwari Prasad was placed on probation by the Florida Board of Medicine after a complaint accused him of medical malpractice, citing two procedures at the Ambulatory Surgery Center Tampa in June 2023 in which he failed to “effectively communicate” with his team and the patients because he wasn’t wearing his required hearing aids.

During one colonoscopy, the gastroenterologist “began inserting the scope” before the patient was fully sedated. The patient started yelling — but Dr Prasad “did not immediately stop the procedure” because he wasn’t wearing his hearing aids, the October 10, 2023 complaint says.

The nine-page complaint accuses Dr Prasad of falling below the minimum prevailing professional standard of care.

“During one or both procedures, the surgical team was unable to effectively communicate with” Dr Prasad, the complaint states. If a doctor is unable to “effectively communicate” with their team without a hearing aid, “the minimum prevailing professional standard of care requires the physician to use an assistive hearing device during a procedure.”

During another procedure, Dr Prasad “improperly delegated” portions of the colonoscopy to a surgical tech, who lacked a medical license.

The surgical tech was asked to insert the scope, manipulate the scope, manipulate the snare over polyps, and remove polyps, according to the complaint.

The state’s board of medicine ordered on August 7, 2024, that Dr Prasad’s license be placed on probation, prohibiting him from performing gastroenterology procedures without a supervisor present. He was also fined $7,500 and ordered to pay $6,301 in board administrative costs. On top of this, the physician must complete five hours of a Continuing Medical Education course in laws, rules, and ethics within a year.

The Independent has contacted Dr Prasad at the email address listed on his practitioner profile.