Medical Board of California Should Investigate Mcmath Clinicians

Jahi Mcmath died on December 12, 2013.  Yet, in just the past few days, clinicians inserted a feeding tube and tracheotomy tube at the "undisclosed facility" to which Mcmath was transferred from Oakland Children's Hospital.  

Dr. Michael Kamrava

The Medical Board of California should investigate the clinicians that inserted these tubes.  Performing such procedures under these circumstances is way outside the prevailing standard of care.  



The case of Dr. Michael Kamrava is instructive.  In June 2008, the California fertility doctor implanted a dozen embryos in Nadya Suleman (”Octomom”), resulting in the birth of eight babies.   Suleman demanded all twelve embryos that were available for the procedure and “would not accept anything less.”  Dr. Kamrava “did not think he could refuse to transfer less embryos than those to which N.S. would agree because he believed at the time that the ultimate decision should be largely driven by the patient's wishes.”  He felt “bound to honor her wishes.”   



But the California Medical Board revoked Kamrava's license.  It found gross negligence.   The Board held that while it is appropriate to consider patient wishes, a physician cannot be “oblivious to standards of care.”  It concluded that Dr. Kamrava failed to “exercise sound judgment.”  In re Kamrava,
No. 06-2009-197098 (Medical Board of California, 1 June 2011).  A similar result might obtain for clinicians in the Mcmath case.