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A country doctor has been banned from work after wrongly diagnosing a woman with glandular fever and anxiety weeks before she died of liver cancer and heart disease.
The 71-year-old visited GP Kin Vui Tan in Lithgow, central west NSW, five times in early 2021 with “alarming” blood test results and worsening health. rapid decline.
Tan ignored signs of serious illness, including liver function levels more than 25 times normal, according to a case brought by the Health Care Complaints Commission.
The woman eventually went to Lithgow’s emergency department and was airlifted to a hospital in Sydney, where she died on March 8 that year.
The 71-year-old visited GP Kin Vui Tan in Lithgow, central west NSW, five times in early 2021 with “alarming” blood test results and worsening health. rapid decline” (stock image)
His death was caused by a combination of factors, including a heart attack, sepsis and possibly cancer.
Tan, who is in his 60s, was found guilty of professional misconduct in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal on Tuesday and disqualified for two years.
The court was told the woman’s blood results – which also showed a high white blood cell count and low iron levels – should have raised suspicion of cancer and led to further urgent tests and scans.
“It appears that the practitioner’s level of knowledge was so low that he did not recognize the importance of these blood tests,” the judgment said.
At a 2021 hearing, Tan said he did not order tests because the woman had no symptoms or her medical issues had resolved.
“This simplistic attitude indicates very poor judgment and a serious lack of knowledge,” the court said.
The woman took the blood tests on January 19, but Tan did not examine her or order any tests when he reviewed the results during an appointment two days later.
He ignored the pathology lab’s recommendation for a liver ultrasound and instead diagnosed the woman with glandular fever or another viral infection.
By mid-February, the woman had extremely swollen ankles – a sign of liver disease – as well as shortness of breath and a high pulse.
Tan ignored signs of serious illness, including liver function levels more than 25 times normal, according to a case brought by the Health Care Complaints Commission (stock image)
Tan prescribed medication to relieve the swelling without investigating the cause and attributed the respiratory and cardiac symptoms to anxiety.
A day before the woman, known as Patient A, went to the hospital, Tan diagnosed the pain as reflux as the woman showed signs of coronary heart disease and angina.
The court said Tan continued to justify his failure to consider serious diagnoses and questioned complaints filed by the woman’s family.
“It appears that even after having had time to reflect and benefited from expert feedback, the practitioner continues to be unaware of how poor his treatment of Patient A was.”
Tan is no longer registered and has told the court he has no intention of practicing in Australia again.
The court said it would have canceled its registration if it remained current.