Contraindications: Dr. Matthew William Wasserman

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Published on
May 20, 2009

Matthew William Wasserman of Katy, Texas, found a unique way to treat a female patient's back: "a sensory examination of the genital area."

That was according to the Texas Medical Board.

Now, Wasserman had only been out of medical residency for three years when this happened, and he did not have a lot of women in his graduating class at Baylor Medical College. Still, one has to assume that most doctors know the basics of anatomy, male or female.

This patient went to Wasserman in October 2006, complaining of neck, back and leg pain. He recommended physical therapy, and this genital exam. Then he followed up with a phone call.

He called her at home "and engaged in sexually inappropriate conversation with her on the phone and offered to examine her outside of his office setting at a hotel," according to the medical board.

Now, that's smooth.

The patient, however, was not swayed.

She recorded the conversation and turned it over to the medical board. The board weighed the evidence, fined Wasserman $5,000 and ordered him to take a "boundaries course."

And just in case Wasserman had any inclination to veer off course again, the board ordered him to have a chaperone in the room anytime he examined a female patient for the next two years.