Saint Paul Pioneer Press (Minnesota)

February 7, 1997 Friday
Correction Appended

MEDICAL BOARD FINES 4 PHYSICIANS

BYLINE: Tom Majeski, Staff Writer

SECTION: METRO; Pg. 4B

LENGTH: 503 words

Dr. Gerald H. Gammell, a 59-year-old Minneapolis psychiatrist, has been reprimanded and fined $25,000 by the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice, the board announced Thursday.
In other action, the board reprimanded and fined physicians from Duluth and Shorewood, Minn., and fined and restricted the license of a Minneapolis physician.
Gammell was disciplined for unprofessional and unethical conduct, improper management of medical records and for conduct that is sexual or may reasonably be interpreted by the patient as sexual.
Among other things, the board found that Gammell climbed under the covers with one of his female patients, undressed and said that he wanted to do a “sexual healing” with her.
On numerous other occasions, Gammell would hug, kiss and lie on the floor next to his female patients, the board said. He also gave several of his female patients a book by an author who advocated participating in orgies with his patients, the board said.
Besides the reprimand and fine, Gammell was ordered to complete a professional boundaries training course within nine months.
In addition, Gammell was ordered to practice only in a pre-approved group setting, and he had his psychiatry practice restricted to patient medication management and minimally necessary ancillary psychotherapy.
The Duluth physician, Dr. Susanne Pearce, 49, was reprimanded and fined $2,500 and ordered to complete a professional boundaries training course for telling a husband that his wife had genital herpes after assuring the woman that she would not tell her husband about the infection.
The Shorewood physician, Dr. Edmund A. Post, 75, was reprimanded and fined $1,300 for unprofessional and unethical conduct, improper management of medical records and prescribing a drug for other than medically accepted purposes.
According to the board, Post prescribed large quantities of drugs to a female patient who had a known history of chemical dependency. In addition, Post prescribed controlled drugs to a male “binge drinker” who lived with the female patient.
Besides the reprimand and fine, Post was ordered to surrender his certificate that authorized him to prescribe controlled drugs. He also was ordered not to prescribe or administer any prescription drugs or drug samples for his own use or the use of family members or friends.
The Minneapolis physician, Dr. Keith W. Sehnert, 70, was disciplined for unprofessional and unethical conduct, improper management of medical records, fee splitting and prescribing a drug for other than medically accepted purposes.
Sehnert was ordered to successfully complete a records management course, close his family practice by March 15 and limit his practice to serving as medical director of the New Life Weight Management Group.
In addition, the board ordered him not to treat patients for conditions other than obesity and was ordered to prescribe only FDA-approved medications for weight loss.
Sehnert also was fined $10,000.