DORAL, Fla. – A South Florida man was arrested Thursday, months after police opened an investigation into his posing as a licensed doctor in Doral, authorities said.
According to Doral police, a physician's assistant at Med Clinic Healthcare, which is located at 10800 NW 58th St., told authorities in August that Jose Ramirez, 45, was practicing medicine at the clinic without a license.
Detectives said Ramirez represented himself as a doctor, treated patients and prescribed medications.
"This individual has never had a medical license that we know of," Capt. Carlos Arango said. "He has never had doctor training (and) has never been certified in any state or in any country."
The PA told police that she suspected something "was amiss" when she was asked to sign prescriptions for Ramirez.
An arrest warrant stated that the PA asked a staff member why she was continually asked to sign prescriptions for patients when Ramirez was in the office, and she was told that Ramirez always wrote his prescriptions under another doctor's name.
"This pretend doctor would use the prescription pads of another doctor. He would never sign under his own name," Arango said.
Detectives said Ramirez performed procedures such as infiltrations, wart removal, suturing of lacerations and administration of intravenous medication.
Ramirez owned and ran the clinic since 2013, authorities said. They said he had other licensed doctors working for him, but he wasn't a doctor himself.
Martha Delvale told Local 10 News reporter Todd Tongen that the doctor who she sees at the clinic was just as shocked about the news as she was.
"He is working for this clinic, but he is a doctor. I know him a long time," she said.
Police believe that Ramirez has strong ties to the immigrant community and that he might have treated many patients who were underinsured or who might be reluctant to come forward.
Anyone who has been treated by Ramirez is asked to call the Doral Police Department at 305-593-6699.
To verify licensure of healthcare providers, visit www.FLHealth.gov.
Ramirez faces charges of practicing medicine without a license, which is a third-degree felony, and posing as a physician, which is a first-degree misdemeanor.