Several men treated for impotence at the Parnell Medical Group, an Edina clinic that opened last year, wound up in the emergency room with painful and embarrassing complications that, local urologists say, were the result of inappropriate and irresponsible care.
Doctors called in by one hospital say the patients had been provided with excessive doses of medications, which they injected at home, resulting in erections that lasted for several hours. No one at Parnell had the expertise to take care of them, the doctors say.
As a result, one urology clinic filed a complaint in September with the state Board of Medical Practice charging that Parnell does not meet the community "standard of care."
Parnell's clinic director, Brian Ahern, said in an interview that the clinic changed hands last October, and that no problems have occurred since then. The clinic has just hired a urologist who will become medical director, Ahern said. But that physician has himself been recently disciplined for alcoholism by the medical board, according to public documents.
Still, the physicians say that their complaint remains unresolved and that the clinic remains unequipped to handle medical complications if they arise. Meanwhile, they say, Parnell is taking advantage of a vulnerable group of patients who are unlikely to complain if something goes wrong -- men with impotence.
"They chose an area of medicine where they can play upon the fears of men," said Dr. Mark Fallen, a doctor with Urologic Physicians.
The doctors say their concern is patient care, not competition for patients. "I think there is plenty of that business to go around," said Dr. Todd Fleming of Urology Associates, who filed the complaint.
They say they are puzzled that men would go to Parnell rather than talking to their own doctors or going to a urology clinic, where insurance would probably cover their costs. Instead, they pay hundreds of dollars to Parnell.
