Health Care Complaints Commission v Epstein (No 2) [2015] NSWCATOD 36

Civil and Administrative Tribunal New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Health Care Complaints Commission v Epstein (No 2) [2015] NSWCATOD 36 Hearing dates: 16 April 2015 Date of orders: 23 April 2015 Decision date: 23 April 2015 Jurisdiction: Occupational Division Before: J Boland ADCJ (Deputy President) Professor D Chisholm AO (Professional Member) Dr K Ilbery (Professional Member) A Gray (Lay Member) Decision: 1. The Registrar, Occupational Division, NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal is requested as soon as practicable to notify the Medical Council of NSW of the following orders and conditions.

2. The conditions imposed on Dr Julie Epstein's (the practitioner) registration on 10 July 2010 as varied on 10 December 2010 and further varied on 8 May 2012 are discharged.

3. The following order and practice conditions shall be recorded on the register of health practitioners maintained by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) in respect of the practitioner: (1) The practitioner is reprimanded. (2) The practitioner shall not on and after 23 April 2015 for a period of two years prescribe or dispense to any new or existing male patient the following drugs: (a) Human growth hormone; (b) Testosterone; (c) Chorionic Gonadotropin (Pregnyl); (d) Anastrozole (Arimidex or its pharmacological equivalent); (e) Other anabolic/androgenic steroids (except DHEA) and/or (f) Nandrolone Deconate (Deca-Durabolin) UNLESS: (g) she first obtains written approval to prescribe as proposed from an Australian endocrinologist of her choice who is a currently practising Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Physicians who has reviewed the patient records and the practitioner's proposed treatment plan (that shall include proposed drugs to be prescribed); OR the patient is by reviewed the endocrinologist and the practitioner's treatment plan is approved by the endocrinologist. (h) The endocrinologist/s is referred to in (g) nominated by the practitioner is to be approved by the Medical Council of New South Wales (the Council).