Pennsylvania weight loss doctor Prabhakara Tumpati suspended after performing vaginal exams on a couch and quizzing patients about their tampon use
A Pennsylvania weight-loss doctor was suspended after he was suspected of performing vaginal exams on a couch and asking patients about their tampon use.
Dr. Prabhakara Tumpati was accused of improper conduct in 2017 and in October the state medical board ruled he had breached professional standards.
According to disciplinary records, Tumpati inappropriately touched a female patient’s genitals on an office couch, inquired about their use of tampons and allowed a medical assistant to dispense weight-loss medications without consent.
Tumpati, described as a weight and sleep medicine doctor, has denied that the improper exams took place and plans to appeal his three-year suspension in court, according to state records.
He has two other offices in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and Brooklyn, New York. His attorney said he does not practice in the New Jersey office.
Tumpati’s attorney, Peter Good, of Caldwell & Kearns, said The Philadelphia Inquirer: ‘We understand that discipline may have been appropriate, but we believe that the sanction imposed by the board was more severe than necessary.’
Dr. Prabhakara Tumpati, a weight and sleep medicine doctor, had his license suspended in Pennsylvania after multiple female patients accused him of improper examinations that took place in 2017.
According to disciplinary records, Tumpati inappropriately touched a female patient’s genitals on an office couch, inquired about their use of tampons and allowed a medical assistant to dispense weightless medications without consent.
It is unclear why Tumpati was not disciplined for six years. In his appeal to the Commonwealth Court, Tumpati said the board abused their power when they issued a harsher sentence.
“There was no immediate concern to impose a sanction earlier,” his lawyer said in the appeal.
Two of the reported complaints were filed by patients in July and September 2017, the Inquirer reports.
A 30-year-old female patient reported that during her visit, Tumpati instructed her to lower her pants and underwear before he performed a vaginal exam on her, according to the legal documents.
During the exam, he began questioning her about her tampon use, the documents said.
During his time with the second patient, Tumpati allegedly touched her abdomen with an ungloved finger before passing under her waistband and leading to her inner thigh, documents show.
Tumpati denied what happened to the 30-year-old woman and told the board she had a skin condition that he thought needed investigation, the documents said.
He said he decided not to document the skin condition in her file because it was not related to weight loss.
He has appealed Pennsylvania’s decision to suspend his license for three years, saying the board abused their power by imposing a harsher penalty. (photo: his office in Philadelphia)
He has two other offices in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and Brooklyn, New York. His attorney said he does not practice in the New Jersey office. (photo: Tumpati’s Brooklyn office)
In October of that year, the Pennsylvania Department of State sent professional behavioral investigator Sherilyn Gillespie to its Philadelphia office to act as a patient.
Gillespie, who went undercover as a patient seeking weight-loss treatment, reported that during her visit, Tumpati told her to lie down on the couch in his office for the examination.
According to disciplinary records, he then pulled up the investigator’s shirt, pulled down her pants and, without any caution, reached into her underwear and ran his exposed thumb over her hysterectomy scar several times.
In response to Gillespie’s claim, the doctor said he chose to examine her scar because weight-loss drugs are known to cause birth defects.
Tumpati said he wore gloves with each patient and washed his hands before their examinations. His attorney said his couch was there to mimic “grandma’s living room” so patients could feel comfortable.
Each patient involved in the disciplinary records said they were all given weight-loss drug cocktails by a medical assistant.
The board punished Tumpati for having a medical assistant who was not qualified to dispense medications, including controlled weight loss medications that were not reported, documents said.
The board called his behavior toward patients “appalling” when deciding to revoke his license. They added that he showed “a complete disregard for the emotional and physical well-being of the patients.”
Tumpati said he wore gloves with each patient and washed his hands before their examinations. His lawyer said his couch was there to mimic “grandma’s living room” so patients could feel comfortable
The board called his behavior toward patients “appalling” when deciding to revoke his license. They added that he showed “a complete disregard for the emotional and physical well-being of the patients.”
The State Department recommended that his practice be placed on probation for one year, but the board asked for three years.
His suspension may be shortened after one year, and his discipline may be minimized to probation for the remaining two years.
According to his website, both of his Pennsylvania locations are still listed as p(em), along with his in New York and New Jersey.
Public records show he can still practice medicine in the other two states.
When The Philadelphia Inquirer called his Brooklyn office, the location was accepting appointments.
His shared practice, doctors and medical staff, offers weight loss treatments such as IV nutrition, body contouring, microdermabrasion, weight loss shakes and bars, and injectable medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy.