The Connecticut Medical Examining Board fined two orthopedic physicians $10,000 each after finding they allowed unlicensed staff to perform laser treatments at an affiliated business in Southington, Conn, according to a May 20 New Haven Register report.
Christopher Betz, MD, and Scott Kissell, MD, operated the orthopedic laser treatment business OrthoLazer, in addition to their physician practices, according to state Department of Public Health documents. From June 2020 to May 2021, unlicensed staff allegedly performed laser treatments on patients and the physicians failed to obtain informed consent or explain treatment risks and side effects, the documents said.
The physicians initially agreed in 2025 to settle the allegations with $5,000 fines to avoid a hearing, but the medical board rejected the penalties as too low. The board approved revised consent orders May 19 that doubled the fines to $10,000 each. The laser center closed in 2024, officials said.
Board members also noted Dr. Betz had previously been disciplined in 2022 after operating on the wrong knee of a patient at Bristol (Conn.) Hospital in 2018, according to DPH records. He was fined after investigators found he failed to follow pre-surgery verification protocols.
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