Harvard health services official reprimanded in sexual harassment case
The director of the Harvard University Health Services clinic at the Business School, Dr. Bruce Biller, was reprimanded today by the state medical licensing board and ordered to complete sexual harassment training.
The medical board also indefinitely suspended the medical license of Dr. Perveen Rathore, a psychiatrist who was involved in a physical altercation with police and staff at UMass Memorial Medical Center last May.
According to a consent order between Biller and the Board of Registration in Medicine, Biller made a female employee uncomfortable when he touched her as a gesture of appreciation for fixing his cellphone in March 2005. The employee filed a sexual harassment complaint against Biller, and during an investigation by Harvard, a nurse reported that Biller had kissed her forehead in November 2004 to wish her a happy Thanksgiving, the board's order said.
Harvard concluded that Biller engaged in behavior inconsistent with the university's standards of conduct and issued a performance warning to Biller, according to the board's order.
Rathore was working as an on-call psychiatrist for UMass Memorial last May when she refused to leave a party to evaluate a patient who had been violent and was in restraints, according to a consent order she signed. She was then relieved of her on-call duty by the hospital, but she later went to the hospital and was told to leave. When she did not, police were called. A struggle ensued when the officers attempted to arrest Rathore, the document said. Attempts to calm her were unsuccessful, and she was subsequently hospitalized for a psychiatric evaluation.
She was determined to be mentally unstable and not capable of practicing medicine safely, according to board documents, and UMass Memorial suspended her privileges.
The board's order said Rathore could ask the board to stay her suspension after three months of weekly psychiatric treatment and a followup evaluation.
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Elizabeth Cooney is a former
health reporter for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, where she also was a
business reporter and an editor. Earlier in her career, she edited medical
books and journals at Little, Brown, and worked for Boston magazine.Boston Globe Health and Science staff:
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1. I have reviewed your article about me. There are many discrepancies in it. I was attending Graduation commencement of my Daughter, and did not refused to see the patient, as it was not an Emergency. When I arrived at UMASS, I was verbally abused by Dr. Smallwood, and when I was to complain about him, the Nursing supervisor, Mrs. Peasley grabbed my chest/breast to rip off my badge and the security officers started hitting me and handcuffed me, throw me on the floor, kicked my back, I stated having chest pains and asked them to call 911, instead more staff came, pulled me up and throw me on the hard floor resulting in left knee injury, back and neck injury and head concussion. I was taken to UMASS ER, while I was an Employee of Mass General Hospital and wanted my care to be taken there. Instead it did not happened. I was not allowed to call my family for 31/2 hours till I asked to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Setzella. Who instead without ruling out any medical causes, with no neurology or cardiology consult. I was kept in hand and ankle cuff lets for straight 10 hours and I had all documents with me. I was physically, and sexually assaulted at the facility as well as mentally abused. I terminated my emplacement and my privileges at the UMass Memorial Hospital and wrote them to the Board of Registration in Medicine, but no action was taken by the Boards, but instead on 6/6/07, Lowry Hassler called me to come to the Boards for a meeting. I went there and she threatened me to give up my license. I had questions, why mine why not other physicians involved. Since then, I had to close my clinic in 2 hours, and not working since June and on verge of a financial collapse. My family is suffering. Board has all the information and documents, but they are protecting one state agency, as they themselves are a state agency and that is not fair. They did not mentioned what happened at Umass, I was Physicall, mentally and sexually assaulted at the Umass, and the ER DR. mismanaged my treatment and case and needs to be investigated by the Boards along with other physician. Staff involved. I have been victimized as I am not a state employee. Board has all the documentation, by doing this they have violated my civil rights as well has put my family in jeapordy.
Please call me so I can provide you with actual fact , then the fiction created by UMass and the BORM. Please call me at 508-631-6297 or e-mail me at Perveenr@aol.com