A GP’s Unhealthy Obsession with Lasers Leads to Registration Stripping
A long-serving general practitioner (GP) has had his medical registration revoked after a tribunal found he had an “unhealthy obsession” with lasers and repeatedly encouraged patients to pursue low-level laser therapy (LLLT) despite not being permitted to do so.
The South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal heard that Adelaide-based GP Mark Rogers promoted LLLT over the course of a decade, even though he was not allowed to offer this treatment. Seven years ago, Dr Rogers was banned from providing the therapy after it was revealed he had made “misleading” statements about its effectiveness. However, the tribunal found that he continued to push patients toward the therapy in a “willful and blatant disregard” of the ban.
Dr Rogers was referred to the tribunal by the Medical Board of Australia, facing six allegations of misconduct. These included:
- Failing to provide good patient care
- Failing to disclose potential conflicts of interest
- Financial and commercial dealings with a patient
- Providing false or misleading information
- Breaching a commitment to the board
- Breaching a condition of registration
The tribunal upheld all six allegations, including that Dr Rogers provided “inadequate treatment and inappropriate advice” when recommending laser treatment. Previously, Dr Rogers caused controversy by claiming that the therapy could be used to heal Alzheimer’s — a claim he later admitted was false. Following the latest tribunal, he has been disqualified from practice, bringing a career lasting more than 30 years to an abrupt halt for 18 months.
The findings of the tribunal stated: “The respondent [Dr Rogers] says that because of his unhealthy obsession with LLLT, which was ‘almost delusional,’ he found it difficult not to talk about that treatment with the patients subject of the complaint. The respondent, both in his affidavit and evidence states that he now hates LLLT and regrets ever being introduced to it.”
It adds: “While we accept that Dr Rogers admits his behaviour, it cannot be overlooked that he has, in a sense, being forced into compliance by these proceedings against the background of the previous disciplinary orders. On our assessment of him during his evidence, we do not consider that he has developed sufficient and sincere insight into his behaviour.”
LLLT, also known as cold laser therapy, is a non-invasive treatment that uses low-intensity, infrared light, commonly used for pain management or to reduce inflammation. However, it has been considered controversial in mainstream medicine, with some trials showing little difference between the therapy and a placebo.
The controversy surrounding Dr Rogers recommending the treatment was further compounded by his personal interest, which posed a conflict of interest. The tribunal panel added: “We impose the sanctions having carefully considered all of the evidence before us. In doing so, we believe that the public will be properly protected, that their faith in the medical profession can be restored and that a very strong message will be sent to the medical profession, in particular that dishonest conduct towards the health regulators and disregard for orders of a disciplinary tribunal will not be tolerated and will be met with harsh sanctions.”
Under the terms of the ban, Dr Rogers has seen his registration as a medical practitioner cancelled and will be disqualified from reapplying for 18 months.
