District Attorney reaches settlement with medical doctor over unlawful supervision of Arroyo Grande nurse practitioner
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. – San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow announced on Wednesday that a settlement has been reached with Dr. Anika Moore in connection with an earlier settlement with an Arroyo Grande Nurse Practitioner, Sarah Erny, who operated an independent medical office and prescribed controlled substances without Dr. Moore's knowledge or oversight.
Although Dr. Moore does not admit liability, the stipulated civil judgment does require Dr. Moore to pay civil penalties totaling $25,000 and to follow California law and regulations in any future supervisory relationships with any California registered nurse share San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.
California law requires that nurses and supervising physicians enter into a written agreement that specifies roles and duties when treating patients as well as whether medications can be prescribed and which of those medications qualify as a controlled substance explain San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.
Those written agreements also require that supervising physicians routinely evaluate the procedures within as well as the performance of nurses included detail San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.
According to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office, during an investigation it was discovered that Dr. Moore agreed to become Erny's supervising physician in 2018 while Dr. Moore was living and practicing obstetrics and gynecology in Massachusetts.
Dr. Moore received the collaboration agreement from Erny, "skimmed the contents", and returned the agreement to Erny detail San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.
For the next two years, Dr. Moore stated to investigators she made herself available to answer Erny's questions, and was led to believe Erny was working in a clinical setting with other physicians relay San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.
Dr. Moore was not paid for these services add San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.
According to San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office, Dr. Moore was not aware Erny had opened an independent medical office and did not collaborate with Erny on a standardized procedure nor evaluate the nurse's performance.
Dr. Moore was also unaware that Erny was prescribing controlled substances including testosterone, a Schedule III substance, to both male and female patients explain San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office.
“As a supervising physician, Dr. Moore accepted a professional commitment to collaborate and supervise Nurse Practitioner Erny,” said Assistant District Attorney Eric Dobroth. “Our office seeks to ensure that every physician that consents to supervise a nurse, will comply with California requirements, and take great care to routinely evaluate whether the terms of the agreement are being met and to evaluate the nurse’s performance to ensure best patient care.”
For more information about consumer protection laws or to report suspected violations, contact the California Department of Consumer Affairs Consumer Assistance Line at 800-952-5210 or visit here.
You can also report consumer complaints directly to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office using this form for English and this form for Spanish.
