Tribunal reprimands medical practitioner and cancels registration

18 Nov 2014

The State Administrative Tribunal of Western Australia has reprimanded Dr Mughammad Saliem Ismail and cancelled his registration as a medical practitioner.

The original complaints pre-date the start of the National Scheme. The Medical Board of Western Australia had received two notifications alleging that Dr Ismail, a general practitioner, had prescribed anabolic androgenic steroids, stimulants and Clomid (a fertility medicine) to patients for purposes other than therapeutic reasons or a legitimate medical purpose.

In July 2013, the Medical Board of Australia referred the matter to the tribunal after extensive investigation. In the proceedings, Dr Ismail admitted that he had acted carelessly and improperly in prescribing anabolic androgenic steroids, human growth hormone and stimulants when there was no proper therapeutic indication, and when such prescribing unnecessarily put the patients for whom he was prescribing at risk of the potential adverse effects of those drugs.

Dr Ismail admitted:

• that he continued to prescribe anabolic androgenic steroids and stimulants without adequate monitoring, and at times when he knew or ought or have known that patients were suffering from symptoms and/or had signs of known adverse effects
• that he prescribed anabolic androgenic steroids, stimulants and human growth hormone in quantities and combinations which gave rise to a real and substantial risk of known adverse effects, and a real risk that the substances would be on-sold to others and adversely affect the health of purchasers or the recipients of those drugs
• to prescribing Clomid to patients in breach of the Poisons Regulations 1965 (WA), and
• that this prescribing occurred from March 2005 to 7 March 2014, when the Board suspended his registration by taking immediate action to keep the public safe.¹

The Board is currently investigating allegations that Dr Ismail continued to prescribe anabolic androgenic steroids between 8 March 2014 and 21 June 2014.

On 10 October 2014, the tribunal found that Dr Ismail had acted carelessly and improperly and reprimanded him, cancelled his registration as a medical practitioner and ordered that his name be removed from the register of medical practitioners.

A transcript of the decision is on the tribunal website.

For more information

• Visit the AHPRA website
• For registration enquiries: 1300 419 495 (within Australia) +61 3 8708 9001 (overseas callers)
• For media enquiries: (03) 8708 9200

Download a PDF of this Media release - Tribunal reprimands medical practitioner and cancels registration - 18 November 2014 (156 KB,PDF)

¹‘Immediate action’ is an interim step the Board can take while other regulatory processes continue.