PROVIDENCE – The medical license of Dr. Anthony Farina, the director/president of at least six medical corporations, has been suspended for a host of violations, including treating patients despite knowing he had COVID-19, the R.I. Department of Health said on Friday.
The R.I. Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline, following an investigation, determined that Farina posed an immediate danger to the public.
In the order, Farina faces dozens of complaints, including working in his office with COVID-19 and continuing to take patients while knowingly sick. Farina has said that after testing positive, he isolated properly and wore an N-95 mask when in the office, contradicting witness complaints. However, the board found the complaints to have merit and said that Farina, “was not credible.”
The board said that Farina acted recklessly by electing not to receive a COVID-19 test after showing symptoms on Nov. 25, and for failure to isolate during the illness after testing positive on Dec. 4.
Other complaints against Farina detailed in the order included: the creation of a hostile work environment; yelling at staff and throwing objects in the office; failure to forward medical records; failure to send over a referral to a specialist; failure to adequately train staff; lacking adequate systems to ensure billing errors were properly identified and promptly resolved; providing an opioid prescription and treatment to immediate family member and failure to enforce COVID-19 regulations, including ensuring staff wore face masks.
Farina has been ordered to report to the Rhode Island Medical Society Physicians Health Program for evaluation and to follow their recommendations. The board noted that Farina is entitled to an administrative hearing on his suspension.
