An Auckland doctor has been fined $10,000 and ordered to pay costs of $145,000 for mixing medicines he should not have, and giving inappropriate dietary advice. Dr Joseph Williams, of Mt Wellington, was found by the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal to have prescribed a mixture of a potent steroid and an antifungal cream to 12 patients. The tribunal was concerned the doctor mixed the two medicines without proper analysis of the consequences and adequate formal research. “A further major factor was that the doctor in many cases prescribed the mixture in the face of concerns being expressed to him by other professionals whose views he should have respected and taken into account,” the tribunal said in a summary of the case. The tribunal also found Williams provided dietary advice outside accepted medical practice. As well as being fined and made to pay costs, Williams, who is a GP with a special interest in the treatment of eczema, was censured and conditions imposed on his practice. He appealed the tribunal’s decision last year to the High Court and lost.
