Las Vegas Sun

February 23, 2012

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Medical board suspends licenses of Las Vegas doctors

By (contact)

Wednesday, June 2, 2010 | 2 p.m.

The state Board of Medical Examiners says it has summarily suspended the licenses of a Las Vegas doctor accused of improperly touching female patients and another physician for illegally dispensing controlled substances.

The board said Dr. Karl Fazekas, who has practiced in Nevada for 33 years, was recently arrested on three criminal counts of inappropriate conduct toward female patients.

And the license of Dr. Joel Washinsky was suspended after his arrest on 67 felony counts of dispensing controlled substances without a license.

Both Fazekas and Washinsky will have a chance to appear before the examiners board to plead their case for the return of their licenses.

The board said it had signed affidavits from two female patients that Fazekas improperly touched them. Fazekas specializes in family practice and internal medicine.

In the case of Washinsky, the board said he admitted during his arrest to taking Clonazepam and Lorazepam, both controlled substances, on a continuing basis without a prescription and that he may have a dependency on these drugs.

Washinsky, who was licensed by the state in 1989 and specializes in internal medicine, submitted to urine and hair examinations and tested positive for hydrocodone, an opiate, the board said.

The medical board also announced the summary suspension of the license of Dr. Yvonne Barry of Las Vegas, who specializes in family practice and has been licensed since 1995.

The complaint says she prescribed controlled substances for four members of her family but she picked up the drugs and used them herself. She was arrested three times between November 2003 and March 2010 for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Dr. Barry, according to the complaint, failed to reveal the arrests to the examiners board, which also said she has failed to complete her treatment programs for drugs and alcohol.

The board also said it has suspended the physician assistant’s license of Diane Ruhl of Las Vegas, accused of writing prescriptions for patients she didn't have a “bona fide relationship” with.

The board will set hearings later for the four.

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