State board could revoke the medical license of physician in Stanislaus County
The California Medical Board could revoke the license of an Oakdale doctor due to failure to comply with conditions of probation.
A state board action revoked the medical license of Dr. Mark Daniel Cook in April 2024, on allegations of sexual misconduct and gross negligence. But it stayed the revocation and ordered him to comply with probation conditions for 10 years.
The disciplinary action included a 60-day suspension of Cook’s medical license from May 10 to July 8, 2024.
A new accusation May 20 states that Cook continued to see patients in his medical office and handled telehealth appointments during the suspension period last year. It also accuses Cook of providing tramadol, an opioid pain medication, to a new practice partner for a broken arm while Cook’s license was suspended.
That doctor, who had recently begun working in Cook’s office, was arrested by Oakdale police June 7, 2024, on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance without a prescription. Officers had stopped the doctor’s black Honda, which didn’t have a front bumper and had false license plates, and found the opioid pills inside the vehicle, the board accusation said.
The board also accuses Cook’s solely owned practice, Oakdale Family Medicine, of employing an unlicensed person who provided painkillers to the new physician. Cook also allegedly discussed a patient’s methadone treatment plan with an Escalon pharmacist during his suspension.
The Attorney General’s Office, which handles legal matters for the Medical Board, advised the board to revoke Cook’s license if it finds at a hearing that Cook practiced medicine while on suspension. “The revocation shall not be stayed and (the doctor’s) right to practice medicine shall be terminated,” the accusation said.
The Medical Board took action against Cook in March 2024 based on accusations of sexual misconduct with his stepdaughter and gross negligence in prescribing dangerous combinations of drugs to the 9-year-old girl and her mother. Oakdale police investigated the molestation allegations in 2017 but the Stanislaus District Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute the case.
Cook, who answered a call to Oakdale Family Medicine on Wednesday, said the sexual misconduct claim was based on an allegation from an ex-wife eight years ago. When asked to comment on the new Medical Board accusation that he didn’t comply with conditions of probation, Cook said, “I don’t make comments because you will always twist my words around.”
A previous Medical Board investigation considered the sexual misconduct allegation and also found that Cook prescribed a mixture of opiates and sedatives for his ex-wife without a documented medical diagnosis, which created a risk of overdose, respiratory depression and death. According to the Medical Board investigation, Cook prescribed Seroquel to treat his stepdaughter’s mental health issues and increased the dose to four times the recommended amount.
As a primary care physician, Cook was not authorized to manage the psychotropic drugs for a patient, the board accusation said.
Cook also was faulted for prescribing lithium for his stepdaughter even though a specialist had not diagnosed the girl with bipolar disorder.
The board also found Cook was grossly negligent in prescribing medications for another woman with whom he had a relationship. The accusation details a November 2020 CHP traffic stop on Highway 395 near Bishop after which Cook and the woman were arrested on suspicion of cohabitant abuse.
Other conditions of probation
Apart from the 60-day suspension, the April 2024 board decision allowed Cook to continue medical practice under conditions of probationary status, such as having a chaperone present while examining or treating female patients and disclosing his probation status to patients. He was barred from prescribing most controlled substances until completing a professional education course and was expected to take an ethics course and undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
The accusation that Cook continued to see patients during the license suspension period is based on statements from employees, the board records indicate. The state issued an order for Cook to cease practicing medicine effective July 22 last year.
Marian Hollingsworth, a Medical Board watchdog, said the state doesn’t often place a physician on 10 years’ probation, as three to five years is more common. “They gave (Dr. Cook) plenty of chances to comply,” she said. “They were more than lenient in giving him a chance to redeem himself. He will have a chance to appeal this.”
