(Photo illustration via Canva; logo courtesy of the Iowa Board of Medicine)
The Iowa Board of Medicine suspended the license of a fired University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics resident for dishonesty and for abusing his status as a physician by accessing the medical records of women he dated.
In January, the board announced it had issued an emergency order immediately suspending the license of Dr. Gabriel Hernandez Roman, 33, formerly of Iowa City. At the time, the board indicated only that the order was necessary to protect the public due to the serious nature of Hernandez Roman’s “admitted unprofessional behavior and violation of patient privacy standards, as well as the competency concerns reported from multiple institutions where (he) worked.”
Newly disclosed board records indicate the concerns expressed by the board date back to Hernandez Roman’s postgraduate residency program in emergency medicine at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
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Board records indicate that in 2021, after 12 months in the program, Hernandez Roman’s job performance was reviewed and concerns were raised about the amount of time spent on patient care as opposed to the time he spent on his cellphone. It was also noted that his physician notes were often inaccurate and that he utilized pre-drafted templates, without editing, to complete his notes.
Midway through his second year of residency, many other deficiencies were noted. Four UIHC patients had complained about their interactions with him and asked for a different physician. In addition, a number of UIHC nurses had complained of his disrespectful tone and lack of professionalism when interacting with staff, patients, and patients’ families.
About that time, UIHC’s Clinical Competency Committee allegedly became aware of complaints from St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids that Hernandez Roman was “routinely argumentative” with faculty and exceptionally rude to a nurse manager while working his scheduled shifts. There were also complaints that he had been overly eager to perform certain medical procedures on patients and had been “stealing procedures” for patients under the care of other residents.
The CCC also considered a reported incident at the St. Luke’s Hospital in which Hernandez Roman had committed himself to working 10 consecutive shifts without allowing for appropriate rest periods. The committee concluded that action led to Hernandez Roman creating potentially unsafe conditions for both himself and his patients.
The committee also determined Hernandez Roman’s skill level in several key areas appeared to be considerably lower than expected for a second-year resident. According to board records, while he was working to address those issues through remedial training, Hernandez Roman appeared at a professional conference “dressed in torn jeans, a hooded sweatshirt and baseball hat” despite clear directives to the contrary.
In early 2023, the committee learned Hernandez Roman had begun moonlighting at a hospital in Ottumwa without successfully completing the required coursework or obtaining authorization from UIHC.
In another incident, Hernandez Roman was acting as an on-call physician for UIHC on Easter Sunday but was unreachable by the hospital staff for approximately seven to eight hours that day. His explanation, according to the board, was that his cellphone had died, and he had no other way of contacting the hospital.
In early 2023, the UIHC staff became aware of allegations that he had violated patient privacy regulations by gaining unauthorized access to the medical records of a person with whom he had a romantic relationship. It was alleged that when Hernandez Roman realized the woman was aware he had accessed her medical records, he went to her home and threatened that if she ended his career, he would “end” her.
A hospital investigation was launched which revealed Hernandez Roman had accessed the records of two individuals who were not his patients. One of those patients was a woman who alleged that when she was dating Hernandez Roman, he had looked up her medical records and then began reading them to her while commenting that certain doctors had said “interesting” things about her.
When asked to explain his actions, Hernandez Roman allegedly told his superiors that he had accessed the woman’s records out of fear that she was having a “psychotic breakdown,” adding that “girls sometimes say things they do not mean.”
Hernandez Roman allegedly admitted that he also had a romantic relationship with the second woman whose records he had accessed. In that case, he allegedly explained that he pulled her medical records to check lab results for any sexually transmitted diseases, telling investigators, “I thought, ‘Oh f—, I don’t want this girl to pass me anything. I better check.’”
A third violation of patient privacy allegedly occurred on Jan. 18, 2022, when Hernandez Roman, then working in St. Luke’s emergency department, sent a photo of a patient’s prolapsed bowel along with “unprofessional commentary” to a woman he was dating.
Hernandez Roman allegedly told an investigator he had shared the photo with others because he was competing in a “Puerto Rico’s Sexiest Doctor of the Year” contest and wanted to prove he was a physician.
At that point, UIHC terminated Hernandez Roman’s participation in its Emergency Medicine Residency Program for violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, gross unsatisfactory performance, and recurring issues with a lack of professionalism.
Last year, amid a Board of Medicine investigation into his actions, Hernandez Roman allegedly blamed his unprofessional behavior and poor judgment on cultural and language barriers, as well as his poor mental health.
After a recent hearing on the matter, the board rejected that argument and stated that Hernandez Roman had “exhibited a pattern of unprofessional and dishonest behavior and communication over the very short period of time he has been practicing the profession.”
The board went on to say his “pattern of dishonesty” and refusal to follow policies and guidelines related to patient safety indicated he failed to meet the minimum standards of practice and care that are expected of a physician.
With regard to the patient-privacy violations, the board found that his conduct was “particularly disturbing in that he used his status and privilege as a physician to gain private information about individuals with whom he engaged in romantic/sexual relationships … The board finds (his) justification for his behavior to be blatantly untruthful.”
On Feb. 15, the board issued an order imposing a $7,500 civil penalty against Hernandez Roman and suspended his Iowa medical license indefinitely.
Before he can apply for reinstatement, the board said, he must show proof of completing a comprehensive psychological evaluation and any recommended treatment and show proof of completing a board-approved course on ethics, professional boundaries, recordkeeping and patient privacy.
Board records indicate Hernandez Roman is now living in Puerto Rico. He could not be reached for comment.
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