Wednesday, March 16, 2011 | 4:34 p.m.
CARSON CITY – A Las Vegas doctor has been hit with a seven-count complaint by the state Board of Medical Examiners for alleged malpractice and other improper procedures in running his weight loss clinic.
The board says Dr. Robert Feingold prescribed an appetite suppressant drug at Medical Reducing Inc. and failed to inform his clients of its dangers. In some cases, the client ended up weighing more at the end than when she checked in.
The 18-page complaint lists 11 cases of females and one man, and says Feingold failed to give adequate initial examinations. An EKG was performed as well as lab work, but there were no tests for pregnancy and thyroid function.
Feingold has 20 days to answer the amended complaint filed by Lyn Beggs, general counsel for the medical examiners board. “I am not talking to you,” Feingold told a Sun reporter when asked about the accusations on Wednesday. He referred calls to his lawyer, Tracy Singh, who couldn't be reached for immediate comment.
Medical records indicate the clients were treated 20-30 times at the business but were seen less than 10 times by Feingold, who never recommended an exercise or a behavior modification program, according to the complaint.
The clients are identified only by letter to protect their identity.
For instance, patient “C” was a 26-year-old woman who weighed 190 pounds when she checked in and had a body mass index of 31.6, which is considered obese. In 2005, she went to Medical Reducing about 22 times and was seen by Feingold four times.
“C” was prescribed phentermine, an appetite suppressant, and “her medical records do not indicate that she was provided any further medical treatment for weight reduction nor any type of exercise program or behavior modification recommended.”
The record of “C” is “practically illegible and extremely sparse and contains little information regarding her treatment.”
The drug was dispensed at the pharmacy at Medical Reducing. All drugs recommended for the patients were sold at the Feingold business.
“Patient ‘C’ was not provided with any information regarding possible side effects, dependency issues, the potential of birth defects in unborn children or other possible adverse outcomes of taking the prescribed appetite suppressants,” the complaint said.
Most of the patients lost weight. But in the case of patient “I,” she weighed in at 149 pounds, which was considered a healthy weight. But her last recorded weight in October 2008 was 170 pounds.
The only male patient cited in the complaint was 40 and weighed 239 pounds, considered more than 20 percent overweight. He was treated 29 times and was seen six times by Feingold. At the time of his last appointment on June 25, 2004, his weight was 244 pounds.
The complaint says Feingold violated the Nevada Administrative Code in prescribing appetite suppressants without recommending a program of behavior and exercise. He is accused of prescribing the suppressants for patients without conducting an adequate medical examination.
The complaint says the law provides that “the continual failure to exercise the skill or diligence or use the methods ordinarily exercised under the same circumstances by physicians in good standing practicing in the same specialty or field is grounds for discipline.”
Feingold, who received his license in July 1966, also worked at Focus Medical Group, where he engaged in a weight loss practice.
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