Medical practitioner admits to professional misconduct including false overtime and recall claims

19 Oct 2017

Medical practitioner reprimanded, disqualified for two and a half years and ordered to pay $11,500 in costs.

The Western Australian State Administrative Tribunal (tribunal) has reprimanded Dr Azhar Bin Amir Hamzah and disqualified him from applying for registration for two and a half years after he admitted to engaging in professional misconduct by falsifying overtime and recall claims and failing to keep accurate patient records.

In September 2017, the tribunal heard that the Medical Board of Australia (the Board) and Dr Hamzah had agreed on terms upon which the matter could be settled.

Dr Hamzah admitted that between 16 June 2015 and 15 June 2016, while he was working as a medical practitioner at Fiona Stanley Hospital, he breached Good Medical Practice: A Code of Conduct for Doctors in Australia by:

• falsifying patient records
• claiming overtime and recall claims that he did not work with the intention of being paid, and
• failing to keep accurate, up to date patient records.

Dr Hamzah derived a total financial benefit of $7,093 as a result of these actions. He has since expressed remorse for his conduct and has repaid the money.

On 26 September 2017, the tribunal found Dr Hamzah had behaved in a way that constitutes professional misconduct and ordered that he be disqualified from applying for registration for two and a half years. He was reprimanded and ordered to pay costs of $11,500.

Dr Hamzah is no longer registered as a medical practitioner. However, the Board indicated that had he been registered, it would have sought cancellation of his registration.

The tribunal has published the decision on its website.