SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — An obstetrician-gynecologist, who is accused of sexting a female patient he saw for a breast exam, pap smear and IUD insertion, could have his medical license suspended.
The Medical Board of California filed an accusation against OB-GYN Dr. Anupam Garg on Dec. 5, 2023. The state agency accused the doctor of sexual abuse, misconduct or relations, gross negligence, repeated negligent acts, and general unprofessional conduct.
The board said he failed to have a chaperone present during a breast exam, pap smear and IUD placement during three patient visits from 2021-2022.
In a December 2021 text message, the doctor asked the female patient how she was doing after the procedure.
Garg said he was “looking forward to seeing [Patient A] again!!”
The woman texted the doctor 10 days later with questions about symptoms she was having with the IUD. A few weeks later, she saw Garg for a follow-up visit.
“Great to see you again!!! Hang in there — hopefully this is all over soon!” Garg texted after the visit.
The medical board said texting between Garg and the patient took off and “became romantic and personal with sexual innuendos.”
“During this conversation, Patient A disclosed that her next office visit would be on Valentine’s Day.”
According to the medical board, Garg responded, “Lol really!!! Perfect!!! Not the best place for a valentines date (sic) but I’ll take it!!”
The doctor and patient then exchanged photos of themselves on Jan. 14, 2022, and their conversation included sexual references.
Shortly after, Garg texted his patient again, but she didn’t respond. On Jan. 31, 2022, he messaged again asking if she was OK.
The next day the woman said what they were doing was inappropriate and she could no longer engage with him, the medical board said.
“A doctor should not be doing that with any patient because there's that pedestal the doctor is put on and there is a power issue, and the patient might feel like they need to answer because it's from a doctor,” said patient safety advocate Marian Hollingsworth, who reviewed the accusation.
Garg was working at the Scripps OB-GYN clinic on Fifth Avenue when he met the patient. His LinkedIn says he left the organization as a medical director in March 2022.
“Dr. Garg is no longer affiliated with Scripps Health. Any further questions should be directed to Dr. Garg or the Medical Board directly,” Scripps spokesperson Janice Collin said in an email to Team 10.
Garg has an upcoming hearing with the medical board in April to determine the future of his license.
He didn’t return Team 10’s voicemails and emails requesting comment over the last few weeks.
