Las Vegas doctor who lost license gets second chance

Monday, Dec. 6, 1999 | 11:51 a.m.

A Las Vegas doctor who lost his residency license for practicing medicine without a doctor's license has been given a chance to start fresh.

The Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners meeting in Las Vegas Saturday voted 6-2 with one abstention to approve the license application for Dr. Rafael Mirchou to practice internal medicine.

"They decided to let him start with a clean slate, but he was lectured and told he will be watched by the board," medical board Executive Secretary Larry Leslie said.

"He had lost a license before, and there was concern he would be practicing the same type of medicine at the same clinic."

Board member Joel Lubritz abstained from voting while board President Arne Rosencrantz and Dr. Susan Buchwald voted to not approve the license after what Leslie described as "a heated debate."

Mirchou told the board he had made a mistake and apologized, Leslie said.

In 1998 Mirchou, a University of Nevada School of Medicine resident physician, and four medical workers at the Santa Ana Medical Center, 865 N. Eastern Ave., Suite D, were accused of practicing medicine without a license.

As a resident medical student, Mirchou was required to be supervised by a Nevada licensed medical doctor. The board said the five were examining patients, diagnosing illnesses and prescribing courses of treatment without the supervision of a licensed physician.