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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KHBS/KHOG ) — As many as 12 veterans may have died as a result of errors or misdiagnosis made by a now-fired pathologist at the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks, the VA announced in a press conference Monday, although it is uncertain what role the mistakes may have played.
Dr. Robert Levy, a former pathologist, was fired after being accused of being impaired at work.
Since June 2018, the VA has reviewed 33,902 cases linked to Levy.
In 3,007 (8.8%) there was an error or misdiagnoses made, according to the VA.
In 2018, VA said Levy was found to be impaired on duty on two occasions.
Levy disputed the allegations, telling 40/29 he was not impaired on duty.
According to the VA, the pathologist was found to be impaired on duty on two occasions. He was fired in April 2018. In March 2016, an employee reported Levy for being impaired, which Levy says was the only time he showed up drunk to work.
He entered into an in-patient treatment facility for three months.
A spokesperson with the VA said the pathologist was allowed to return to work following treatment and was monitored by the Mississippi Physician Health Program in conjunction with the Arkansas Medical Foundation.
Levy was not registered in Arkansas, but VA physicians do not need to be licensed in the state of the hospital, said hospital spokesperson Wanda Shull. In October 2017, Levy was again determined to be impaired on duty and was removed from clinical care while the hospital investigated. Levy attributed this to a complex migraine, which he said limited his ability to find words and hear properly.
Still, Levy continued to work as the hospital investigated. He said he saw a neurologist, who cleared him. Records also show Levy later visited a neuropsychologist who found “no major concerns.”Levy’s DUI arrest occurred on March 1. The arresting officer noted Levy’s “speech was very slurred and his balance was swayed.”
The Fayetteville District Court said the case was dismissed on March 30 after blood samples were negative. Levy was ultimately fired April 13.He said he doesn’t know what hospital investigations occurred between March 1 and April 13.
Levy said that he has not been notified by the VA about which cases were misdiagnosed.
According to the Associated Press, Kelvin Parks, the interim medical center director for the hospital, wrote to the Mississippi board on June 7 that Levy “significantly failed to meet generally-accepted standards of clinical practice that constituted an imminent threat to patient welfare.”
Two days later, the Arkansas physician program revoked its advocacy of Levy due to “non-compliance with daily check-in requirements and failure to return phone calls to the AMF.”The Mississippi program notified the license board on June 20 that it too would cease advocacy for Levy, and Mississippi revoked his license the following day. Levy’s licenses in California and Florida are still active.
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