Urgent Care Physician Imposter Busted in Florida

A physician assistant’s suspicions and subsequent law enforcement investigations have led to the president of an urgent care center in south Florida being formally charged with posing as a physician and possession of a blank prescription form. In fact, the Med-Clinic in Doral, FL was not licensed by the state to serve as any kind of medical facility. Regardless, it employed “real” clinicians and promoted its capabilities to treat broken bones and infections…all the services that have become the hallmark of legitimate urgent care operations. The fraud started to unravel when a PA started to think it strange that she was asked to sign prescriptions even if the president, who billed himself as a physician, was around. Her suspicions clicked into overdrive when she did see him sign a prescription—but in another physician’s name. She also told police that she saw him perform wart removals and other office-based procedures. In a revelation that hits closer to home, the clinic displayed the logo of the Urgent Care Association; however, the Miami Herald newspaper did some digging and found that Med-Clinic was not listed by UCA as an accredited or certified location. The case is reminiscent of one in which an 18-year-old nonphysician opened an urgent care center and went about treating patents in West Palm Beach, FL in 2016. He was charged, convicted, and ultimately sentenced to a year in prison.