Jayant Patel was given permission to practice medicine in Queensland state in 2003, despite a string of failed operations and surgical malpractice claims in Oregon and New York. During his subsequent two-year tenure at Bundaberg Base Hospital, 67 patients died.
The Medical Board of Queensland alleges Patel -- branded ''Dr. Death'' by Australian media -- falsified his application to practice in Australia by removing his disciplinary history, but acknowledges that it failed to check his application against records in the United States.
Patel's whereabouts are unknown and he has not commented on the inquiry or allegations against him.
His case has raised questions about how foreign-trained doctors are hired in countries suffering a shortage of medical personnel prepared to work in rural areas. Patel, who was educated in India and completed his residency in New York state, was first cited in 1984 by New York health officials for failing to examine patients prior to surgery.
He was fined $5,000 and given three years' probation for the lapse.
Patel moved his practice to Oregon in 1989, but did not escape controversy. After reviewing four of his cases, the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners suspended Patel's license in 2000, banning him from certain types of operations and forcing him to seek a second opinion in complicated cases.
After learning of the suspension, the New York Department of Health forced Patel to surrender his license in 2001, citing ''gross negligence ... on more than one occasion.''
That year, Patel abandoned his US practice and resurfaced in 2003 in Bundaberg, where co-workers soon became suspicious about his care.
Nevertheless, Patel's background went undetected by public officials until March, when a letter from a senior nurse at the Bundaberg hospital was submitted in the Queensland Parliament linking the surgeon to the deaths or serious injuries of 14 patients.
The letter sparked a widespread investigation into Patel's history and led to the establishment of the Royal Commission of Inquiry, which will seek to establish the extent of Patel's alleged malpractice and how he was allowed to operate in Australia.
The inquiry opening Monday is expected to last several weeks, and will include testimony from former patients and their relatives, co-workers and Queensland state officials.
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