Physician Behind Surgisphere Scandal Switches Medical Licenses
Sapan Desai, the embattled vascular surgeon and CEO of the now-defunct Surgisphere Corporation, has inactivated his medical license in one state and obtained a license in another.
Each US state has its own licensing board, and generally a doctor requires an in-state license to practice medicine there—although Illinois is one of many states that is granting emergency authorization to some out-of-state physicians in response to the COVID-19 crisis, provided they have an active license and are in good standing.
According to public records held by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Desai’s license, which was issued to the South Barrington–based surgeon in 2013, was recently inactivated—a change requested voluntarily by the licensee that prohibits them from practicing medicine in the state. The license isn’t set to expire until 2023.
On September 25, according to records held by the State Medical Board of Ohio, a new medical license was issued to a Sapan Desai based in South Barrington, Illinois, with a specialty in vascular surgery. That license is valid until 2022.
Desai became the focus of a scandal earlier this year after Surgisphere provided data for several high-profile studies on COVID-19 patients. Those studies were quickly retracted after scientists and journalists raised questions about the provenance of the data, and independent auditors were refused access to the company’s database. The company disappeared shortly thereafter, and Desai stopped responding to requests for comment.
https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/physician-behind-surgisphere-scandal-switches-medical-licenses-68085
