A Doctor’s Unusual Approach to Medical Exemptions
A Victorian doctor, Dr Denes Borsos, has faced serious consequences for his actions during the pandemic. He issued 189 vaccination exemptions and 122 face mask exemptions in just three days without examining any of the patients. This unusual approach led to a five-year ban from practicing medicine.
Dr Borsos was accused of not conducting proper clinical assessments for the exemptions he provided. His actions were seen as a direct challenge to the medical standards expected of healthcare professionals. The tribunal found that he had substituted his personal views for professional obligations, which is a serious breach of medical ethics.
Challenging Medical Authority
Dr Borsos did not shy away from expressing his strong opinions on the vaccine. He referred to it as an ‘experimental bioweapon’ and even used the example of tennis star Novak Djokovic, who was banned from Australia over his stance on the pandemic. He also made unfounded claims about the death of Shane Warne, suggesting he died because he ‘drank the Kool-Aid about safe and effective’.
His criticisms extended to the Medical Board of Australia, which he described as ‘wrong, cruel and arrogant’. He claimed the board was stretching the legislation like bubble gum, indicating his belief that they were acting beyond their authority. Despite these accusations, he refused to attend the hearing, stating that his career and business had already been destroyed beyond the tribunal’s ability to fix.
Concerns Over Patient Care
The tribunal discovered that Dr Borsos had referred 196 patients to a cardiologist without naming him or assessing whether they needed the referral. This raised serious concerns about the quality of care provided to his patients. Additionally, he billed 84 consultations as mental health appointments, despite each one falling short of the required 20-minute minimum.
Clinical records for more than 200 patients were found to be ‘identical, almost identical or very short’, with eight cases having no notes at all. This lack of detailed documentation indicated a significant disregard for proper medical procedures.
Legal Consequences
The three-member panel concluded that Dr Borsos had deliberately deviated from clinical and ethical standards. His actions placed his patients and others at risk during a global pandemic. Inspectors who visited his clinic in Colac, regional Victoria, in October 2021 found several violations, including failing to display required signage and not implementing a COVIDSafe plan. He was issued an $1,817 infringement notice.
The Medical Board suspended Dr Borsos in November 2021, and he has been unable to practice for over four years while the case was processed. The tribunal gave him a five-year ban on applying for reinstatement, one year less than the Medical Board sought, taking his long suspension into account.
Final Verdict
Dr Borsos was formally reprimanded, stripped of his registration, and barred from providing any health service until at least 2031. The tribunal emphasized that his conduct was not due to errors or deficiencies in practice but rather deliberate decisions to depart from clinical and ethical standards.
