Psychiatrist loses 4-year battle to have reprimand overturned

A St. Louis psychiatrist, Surendra Chaganti, got a final answer July 21 on his appeal of a reprimand for unprofessional conduct which the Missouri medical board imposed four years ago: the reprimand stands, and Chaganti was ordered to pay the $700,000 in attorney fees for fighting the accusations.

The doctor was originally accused of providing substandard care to a man who died, ignoring a pediatric patient, and inappropriately prescribing psychiatric medicines at a hospital where he was employed in 2001 and 2002. The state’s administrative hearing commission rejected those accusations but retained a charge that Chaganti failed to report all of his past hospital affiliations when applying to renew his hospital privileges.

Chaganti was profiled by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 2010 in a newspaper series about secrecy surrounding doctor discipline and medical errors.