Charlotte Observer (North Carolina)

December 12, 1996 Thursday ONE & TWO EDITION

STATE BOARD DISCIPLINES 3 DOCTORS FOR MISCONDUCT

BYLINE: KAREN GARLOCH, Staff Writer

SECTION: METRO; Pg. 4C

LENGTH: 546 words

Three N.C. physicians have been disciplined by the state medical board for sexual misconduct with patients.
One, Dr. George Andrinopoulos, is a Charlotte obstetrician/gynecologist. The other two, neurologist Martin Hatcher and psychiatrist Robert Wangelin, are from Greensboro.
All but Hatcher signed consent orders with the board, agreeing to suspensions or restrictions on their licenses to practice medicine. Signing a consent order enables the doctors to avoid public disciplinary hearings.
Board officials said nine doctors have been disciplined for sexual misconduct so far this year, compared with eight in 1995.
Andrinopoulos, 54, received a formal reprimand for having a sexual relationship with a patient in 1991. In a consent order signed by him and the board, Andrinopoulos agreed to undergo counseling and give 26 sessions of community service.
Andrinopoulos fought the allegations, brought by the board in 1994, saying that the sexual relationship occurred in his apartment, not in his office, after the woman was no longer his patient. The doctor said the relationship was by mutual consent and that he was not aware it would be considered a violation of ethical or legal standards.
He continues to practice on Randolph Road.
The medical board took stronger action against Hatcher and Wangelin. Their licenses were suspended for a year.
Hatcher, 61, has been fighting the board’s allegations of sexual misconduct since 1992. At a public hearing before the board in November, he said he had never improperly touched a patient. But the board concluded that Hatcher had violated state law by engaging in “immoral” and “sexually exploitative” conduct with 18 female patients, its order said.
One woman filed rape charges against Hatcher in 1990, resulting in two criminal trials. Last year, Hatcher was acquitted on those charges, but two months later, a civil court jury in Greensboro ordered him to pay the woman $1.8 million in damages. The woman’s lawsuit alleged that Hatcher fondled her breasts and genitals and raped her during an April 27, 1990, exam.
Hatcher’s license will be suspended for a year, after which he will remain on probation indefinitely. If he violates any of the board’s order, his license may be suspended again. He must provide the board a psychiatric evaluation, complete continuing medical education on patient-physician boundary issues and prepare a written plan for using chaperones if he treats female patients in the future.
Wangelin, 51, signed a consent order, admitting that he had sexual relationships with at least three of his patients. In addition to the one-year suspension, Wangelin agreed to continue counseling and to have his psychiatrist make regular reports to the board.
The board also issued a consent order signed by Dr. Robert Bruce Thompson, 40, a Charlotte psychiatrist, who said he has been diagnosed with chemical dependency, depression and possible bipolar disorder and was treated for depression and substance abuse in 1995. The board issued him a license through Jan. 31 and required that he practice only in a structured setting, approved by the board, that he provide a report from his psychiatrist, and that he supply urine and blood samples to the board when asked.