State disciplines five doctors

A Brookline gynecologist whose patient died after an abortion has surrendered his license to practice medicine in Massachusetts, one of five disciplinary actions announced by a state regulatory agency yesterday.

Dr. Rapin Osathanondh, who has practiced in Massachusetts since 1974, voluntarily resigned, according to the state Board of Registration in Medicine. Board spokesman Russell Aims said the resignation -- a disciplinary action under which a physician is permanently removed from practice -- meant the board could not provide any more details, but according to a story in the Cape Cod Times, Laura Smith of Sandwich died in September while under anesthesia during an abortion at Osathanondh’s Hyannis clinic. She was 22.

The board also indefinitely suspended the license of Dr. Leon Josephs, chief of surgery at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester. The board said that dating back to 1998 he had provided substandard care to three patients -- two of whom died after laparoscopic operations -- and failed to dictate notes about one of them in a timely fashion. The suspension was stayed yesterday when the doctor, who is also on the staff of Fallon Clinic in Worcester, agreed to five years of probation. Under the agreement, he will no longer perform laparoscopic procedures, he will be supervised by a monitor approved by the board, and he will undergo random chart review.

The board revoked the license of Andover urologist Dr. Erol Onel for gross misconduct. In 2004, he admitted in Lawrence District Court that there was sufficient evidence to find him guilty of indecent assault and battery on a patient, after which he was placed on supervised probation. In the same year, the board also found that Dr. Onel had behaved inappropriately with another patient and two other women, one who worked in medical supply sales and another who worked at Holy Family Hospital, which suspended his privileges.

The board also indefinitely suspended the license of Dr. Arturo Villareal-Verdecia for “boundary violations,” including comments, hugs and kisses that made patients feel uncomfortable, as well as conversations with co-workers that included remarks about patients’ physical appearance. The suspension was stayed after Villareal-Verdecia, who practiced internal medicine at Cambridge Health Alliance until his privileges were suspended last March, accepted a probation agreement requiring a board-approved chaperone for all examinations of female patients and completing of a course on the doctor/patient relationship and communication skills.

The board reprimanded Dr. Richard S. Goldman and fined him $5,000 for failing to keep a patient medical record for the required seven years after the last contact. The Wellesley internist also provided false information when he applied to renew his license, saying his board certification was current when it had lapsed, the board said.