BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Dr. Uma Malempati Rao, owner of a northwest Bakersfield medical spa that was raided in 2021, has been accused of gross negligence and failing to maintain adequate records, according to a state medical board document.
The accusation filed against Rao, owner of EuroPhoria Medical & Personal Spa, refers to five patients and says she failed “to properly provide adequate supervision and oversight” to employees who treated those patients, didn’t create “adequate and accurate” medical records for them and supervised others in a procedure used to reduce the number of sweat glands without receiving any formal training in the procedure herself.
On July 14, 2021, authorities executed a warrant at EuroPhoria, located on Brimhall Avenue, and its warehouse, seizing medical records, according to the accusation. An undercover agent posing as a patient took photographs and recordings the same day, the accusation says.
Rao, interviewed by authorities after the raid, “stated she is only physically present at EuroPhoria for approximately one weekend or three days each month,” according to the accusation. “(Rao) further stated that she supervises two physician assistants employed at EuroPhoria who conduct the good faith examinations (GFE), are located off-site, and are never physically present at EuroPhoria.”
Rao could not be reached for comment Monday. She has owned EuroPhoria since Aug. 1, 2019, the accusation says.
The Medical Board of California could decide to revoke or suspend Rao’s doctor’s license, or hand down another penalty, according to the accusation. A hearing on Rao’s case had not been scheduled as of Monday.
According to the accusation, medical records seized from EuroPhoria show the patients — who are referred to only as Patients 1 to 5 — filled out paperwork that in some instances was not co-signed by Rao or another spa representative. Some documents were left blank in areas that required a patient’s initials. For example, the accusation says a consent form signed by Patient 2, a 52-year-old woman, had no initials next to a section asking for confirmation she didn’t have a pacemaker, internal defibrillator or other metal implants.
A document titled “Client Information & Medical History” wasn’t signed by a Europhoria representative with respect to multiple patients, and there was no indication the information was reviewed with the patients, according to the accusation. Among the other allegations of inadequate paperwork, documents for multiple patients did not specify what post-care instructions they received, according to the accusation.
The accusation says Patient 5, a 48-year-old man, received multiple treatments at EuroPhoria including miraDry treatments — used to reduce the number of underarm sweat glands. The accusation says there was no documentation showing Rao had formal treatment with the miraDry procedure.
