State medical board reprimands Carmichael, Folsom physicians
The Medical Board of California issued reprimands to two Sacramento-area doctors last week.
In one case, the medical board said internist Dr. Steven Paul Orkand of Carmichael improperly treated a 36-year-old patient with rheumatoid arthritis beginning in 1999.
According to medical board documents, Orkand did not screen the patient for tuberculosis before initiating a treatment that can increase the immune system's susceptibility.
In 2004, after the patient repeatedly exhibited signs of respiratory abnormality, Orkand did not order any other diagnostic tests. Nearly five months later, the patient was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Two months after the diagnosis, she died.
Orkand's lawyer, George Strasser of Fresno, declined to comment.
Also receiving a reprimand was psychiatrist Russell C. Ewing of Folsom.
According to medical board documents, Ewing prescribed the epilepsy medication Trileptal to an inmate for treatment of a mood disorder.
However, Ewing did not order the appropriate tests to monitor the drug's side effects. He later acknowledged that he rarely used the medication and was not aware of its side effects.
Reprimands are attached to a doctor's record, which can be viewed at the medical board's Web site, www.medbd.ca.gov.