The Burlington Free Press (Burlington, VT)
Psychiatrist’s license suspended
April 4, 2002

MONTPELIER The state has suspended the license of a St. Albans psychiatrist after he allegedly had sex during an initial counseling session with a woman who was having trouble trusting men.

The Medical Practice Board voted unanimously Wednesday to authorize an emergency suspension of the license of Dr. Ajaz Iqbal, a Harvard-trained physician. Such suspensions are rare, called for only in cases in which the public is seen to be in danger from a physician.

Iqbal, 41, did not respond to a request for comment. Amy Sylvester, an attorney who represented Iqbal before the medical board, said she objected to the license suspension and to the lack of due process in the board’s action.

A person who works with Iqbal said the medical board might have acted too hastily. Ted Mable, executive director of the Northwestern Counseling and Support Services where Iqbal works, said the physician might have thought the encounter with the woman who made the allegation was personal, not professional.

Mable said the clinic has no record of any professional appointment between Iqbal and the woman, whose name was not disclosed by the board. The incident happened at Iqbal’s home in Highgate Center, according to medical board records.

The case comes at a time of intense scrutiny of the disciplining of doctors in Vermont. The Burlington Free Press has published a series of articles addressing the record of the Medical Practice Board, discipline standards and other issues.

The case dates to 1999 when a 31-year-old woman identified as “Patient A” in medical board records was suffering from panic disorder and other emotional conditions. The woman had been in two failed marriages and had been repeatedly physically abused, according to a copy of the motion for summary suspension.

The patient’s mother, who provided care to older patients, some of whom had been cared for by Iqbal, had a “friendly relationship” with the psychiatrist, according to the motion. The mother recommended her daughter see Iqbal for professional counseling.

The mother contacted Iqbal, described her daughter’s condition and offered to pay for her care, according to the motion. Iqbal and the daughter talked on the phone. The doctor said he would meet with her as a favor, without pay.

In November 1999, Patient A met with Iqbal at his home. Assistant Attorney General James Arisman, who presented the motion to the board, said the woman requested the meeting not be at Iqbal’s clinic, and the doctor offered his home.

The woman told Iqbal in detail her emotional history, and her problems with men abusing her trust, according to the motion. After about 40 minutes Iqbal allegedly moved to sit on the sofa next to the woman, and began to rub her shoulders. He then allegedly touched one of her breasts. The woman told him she did not believe in casual sex, according to the motion.

Iqbal allegedly suggested the woman watch a movie to relax, and started a pornographic video. The woman objected, but Iqbal allegedly continued to run the film, then kissed and fondled the woman. They moved to a bedroom and had sex, the woman feeling at the time “shocked, overwhelmed and weak,” according to the motion.

The woman later told a new therapist and her primary care physician about the episode, each of whom recommended she contact authorities. A year later the woman told her mother about the incident. The two then made plans to surreptitiously tape record a meeting with Iqbal.

The woman taped a digital tape recorder to her chest and went to meet with Iqbal. She told him she was “absolutely horrified that she had ended up having sex” with him when she had visited his home, according to the motion.

A transcript of the tape recording was made available to the medical board, but not to the public. In it Iqbal allegedly did not refute any of the woman’s statements.

Neither Arisman nor the board revealed when they first learned of the woman’s complaints. The incident happened three years ago. The board decided an emergency suspension of Iqbal’s license was necessary to protect the public.

Mable said, however, that the board might have acted “rashly” without input from Iqbal.

I’d be the first to fire somebody if they behaved improperly. I just think in this case they don’t have enough information,” Mable said. “You know what’s sad. It’s too late now to repair.”

Mable said Iqbal, an immigrant from Pakistan, has a visa that prohibits him from practicing anyplace other than the St. Albans clinic. Mable said Iqbal clearly knew of this restriction and would not have arranged for professional counseling at home. The physician believed the woman’s mother had arranged a date, Mable suggested.

Mable said he was unaware the mother alleged she arranged for professional counseling. Mable acknowledged that factor could turn the case against Iqbal.

Medical Practice Board records indicate Iqbal was licensed in Vermont in 1998, and received his medical degree in Pakistan in 1985. Records of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine indicate Iqbal was an intern and resident at Harvard Medical School between 1994 and 1998.

Iqbal had no history of disciplinary action or malpractice while working in Massachusetts.

A full hearing on the Vermont allegations has not been set.