A fired resident of Iowa City-based University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is contesting his medical license suspension in court, Iowa Capital Dispatch reported April 22.
The license of Gabriel Hernandez Roman, MD, was suspended in January under an emergency order for allegedly using his physician status to gain private information of individuals he was romantically and sexually involved with. In February, the Iowa Board of Medicine indefinitely suspended his license and imposed a $7,500 penalty.
Board records say that the UIHC staff was informed that Dr. Hernandez Roman accessed the medical records of a woman he was romantically involved with. According to the report, when he discovered she knew he accessed them, he went to her home and threatened her. A hospital investigation revealed he accessed the records of two individuals who were not his patients.
UIHC terminated his participation in its emergency medicine residency program for violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, unsatisfactory performance and recurring lack of professionalism, according to the report.
Dr. Hernandez Roman is seeking a judicial review of the board's actions and challenging the suspension in Polk County District Court. According to the Dispatch, Dr. Hernandez Roman doesn't address the most serious allegations but argues the board imposes sanctions that don't relate to his competency or ethics.
According to the report, Dr. Hernandez Roman alleges he is being punished "for reasons wholly unrelated to a statewide standard of medical care, and instead upon alleged violations of internal policies of the University of Iowa."
State attorneys have denied wrongdoing, according to the report, and said the board will file a more detailed answer to Dr. Hernandez Roman's claims at a later date.
Becker's has reached out to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and will update this story if more information becomes available.