BRUNSWICK

The Maine Board of Licensure in Medicine and the Maine Office of Attorney General have reprimanded a cardiologist working at Mid Coast Hospital for “unprofessional and fraudulent conduct” and placed her on probation.

The incidents that led to Dr. Geeta Godara’s reprimand occurred prior to her joining Mid Coast Hospital.

The board’s decision came after reports were filed claiming that Godara had breached ethical standards with fraudulent letters and “untruthful statements.”

According to the consent agreement, the trouble began when Dr. Godara was placed on probation in 2014 by Maine Medical Center for failing to attend outings required by her cardiology fellowship. The consent agreement states Godara was untruthful as to the reasons why she did not attend the outings.

As part of her probation, she was forbidden from moonlighting.

During the time that she worked on a per diem basis with Central Maine Medical Center, a violation of her probation. When she was up for reappointment at CMMC, she failed to disclose her probation status and submitted three fictitious letters of reference, according to the board. After one of the doctors asked to rescind his reference in August 2015, shortly after Godara was reappointed, questions arose between MMC and CMMC regarding the probation, the fake references, and Godara’s moonlighting. In September of that year, Godara’s employment at MMC was terminated.

According to the consent agreement, Godara has admitted to the facts laid out there and agreed to the terms of the probation and reprimand.

While Godara can still practice medicine in Maine, the consent agreement includes a number of requirements, including workplace monitoring and that she seek counseling. The board also placed Godara’s medical license on probation for one year as part of her consent agreement.

A spokesperson for Mid Coast Hospital confirmed that Godara is employed there and will continue to work with them.

“We are aware of the one-year probation action by the Maine Board of Licensure in Medicine over an issue with a previous employer,” said Steven Trockman, Director of Community Relations and Outreach at Mid Coast Hospital. “We will continue to support the supervision requirements imposed by Dr. Godara’s consent agreement, including mentorship and monitoring. This is not a patient care issue. Dr. Godara is a physician in good standing at Mid Coast Hospital since joining our hospitalist service over a year ago.”

nstrout@timesrecord.com