Health Care Complaints Commission v Mohammadi [2021] NSWCATOD 172

Civil and Administrative Tribunal New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Health Care Complaints Commission v Mohammadi [2021] NSWCATOD 172 Hearing dates: 11 - 13 November 2020, 26 - 28 April 2021 Date of orders: 01 November 2021 Decision date: 01 November 2021 Jurisdiction: Occupational Division Before: Hennessy ADCJ, Deputy President Dr H Haikal-Mukhtar, Senior Member Dr J Aitken, Senior Member A/Prof P Macneill, General member Decision: 1. Dr Mohammadi engaged in unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct. 2. Dr Mohammadi is to pay the Health Care Complaints Commission's costs as agreed. If agreement is not reached, costs are to be assessed under the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014 (NSW). 3. By 19 November 2021, the parties are to file and serve any material relied on for the Stage 2 proceedings. Catchwords: HEALTH — professional registration and discipline — professional misconduct — where general practitioner prescribed fentanyl to patients without conducting an adequate clinical assessment, in excessive quantities, for a non-therapeutic purpose, without appropriate and timely referrals for specialist review and advice, without responding appropriately to drug seeking behaviour, without obtaining an authority — whether conduct amounts to unsatisfactory professional conduct – whether conduct amounts to professional misconduct Legislation Cited: Health Practitioner Regulation (New South Wales) Regulation 2010 (NSW) Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (NSW) Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014 (NSW) Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 1966 (NSW) Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Regulation 2008 (NSW) Cases Cited: Briginshaw v Briginshaw (1938) 60 CLR 336; [1938] HCA 34 Bronze Wing International Pty Ltd v SafeWork NSW [2017] NSWCA 41 HCCC v Nemeth [2012] NSWMT 4 Health Care Complaints Commission v Kwan [2014] NSWCATOD 72 Health Care Complaints Commission v Litchfield (1997) 41 NSWLR 630 Health Care Complaints Commission v Lo [2016] NSWCATOD 119 Health Care Complaints Commission v Philipiah [2013] NSWCA 342 Health Care Complaints Commission v Suri [2016] NSWCATOD 54 Oshlack v Richmond River Council 193 CLR 72; [1998] HCA 11 at [40]. Spicer v NSW Medical Council (Court of Appeal (NSW), 19 February 1981, unrep) Texts Cited: Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists, 'Opioid Dose Equivalence' – calculation of oral Morphine Equivalent Daily Dose online, viewed 5 October 2017 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Health Care Complaints Commission (Applicant) Masoud Mohammadi (Respondent) Representation: Counsel: A Britt (Applicant) M Hutchings (Respondent) Solicitors: Health Care Complaints Commission (Applicant) Unsworth Legal (Respondent) File Number(s): 2020/00126090 Publication restriction: Under s 64 of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 (NSW) an order is made prohibiting disclosure of the names of the patients set out in the Complaint made against the Respondent.