Board concludes Roman commits “Professional Misconduct”

On August 13, 2015, the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Veterinary Medicine handed Dr. Roman a Final Decision and Order in response to a complaint that had been filed more than four years prior. Between 2010 and 2014 the Board held hearings, took testimony under oath, and reviewed documents related the case. 

In 2009, a Hopkinton family’s Golden Retriever, Lily, was diagnosed as having Metastatic Cancer by a veterinarian at Tufts University. The doctor informed the family that the dog would need to be euthanized, and that they should bring her home to spend quality time with her. The doctor told the family that Lily would let them know when it was time to euthanize her by not eating or drinking.

The family did as instructed, and within a few days, Lily had stopped eating and drinking. It was the weekend, so the family’s regular vet was not open. They wanted a private place to put Lily to sleep. A neighbor informed them of MASH, Dr. Margo Roman’s practice in Hopkinton. They looked at Dr. Roman’s website, which offered euthanasia in a “homelike setting”. The family called and made a same-day appointment.

At the appointment, the family was surprised by the unorthodox intake procedure. Dr. Roman’s assistant showed them a calendar with pictures of “semi-nude veterinarians that described the different treatment modalities provided at MASH”, including ozone, acupuncture, and diet and herbal supplements. She described euthanasia as a permanent solution, and indicated there were other treatments that may extend Lily’s life.

Several minutes later, Dr. Roman entered the room and the family provided her with the medical records they had brought with them from Tufts. Dr. Roman observed Lily on the floor, evaluated her breathing, and concluded she was not in need of immediate care at that point. Instead of euthanizing Lily, Dr. Roman suggested she perform a “holistic workup” that afternoon. The family stated multiple times that they did not want Lily to suffer. Dr. Roman assured them that this was a viable treatment option that may prolong Lily’s life, and cited several previous patients whose lives were prolonged by non-traditional treatments.

During Dr. Roman’s physical examination, which lasted less than 5 minutes, she did not move Lily, nor did she use any instrumentation. Instead, she derived Lily’s temperature by touch, subsequently testifying that with her 35 years of experience she can accurately gauge an animal’s temperature within “one to one and half degrees”.

Dr. Roman proposed acupuncture, ozone therapy, nutritional supplements, and herbal and homeopathic remedies. Roman specifically stated “if Lily does have cancer, we’re going to help it by doing ozone therapy.” Roman never obtained X-rays, blood work or any other diagnostic information regarding Lily before she proposed holistic remedies.

Dr. Roman’s assistant administered the ozone treatment and Dr. Roman administered the acupuncture treatment to Lily. Roman sent the family home with Lily and several homeopathic remedies, some of which she compounded by herself. The compounds contained several unusual ingredients, including shark cartilage, bovine colostrums, combinations of mushrooms, and Arsenicum. Roman provided a detailed explanation of the supposed benefits of each.

Later that evening, the family called Dr. Roman to tell her that Lily was having a very hard time breathing and was suffering. Roman instructed them to quickly give Lily several of the compounds. Lily’s condition did not improve, and later that evening the family took her to Tufts where she was humanely euthanized.

In the subsequent investigation, the Board concluded that Dr. Roman’s record keeping in all phases of the case were inadequate and violated the standard of care. Dr. Roman failed to record most of her findings in Lily’s medical record. Additionally, Dr. Roman failed to disclose to the family that the efficacy of ozone therapy had not been established with accepted professional and scientific standards in the veterinary profession and failed to record basic findings from Lily’s physical examination, such as her breathing, alertness, and temperature.

The Board found that Dr. Roman’s plan was to “give it 24 to 48 hours to see if it works…” but she recorded no treatment plan nor scheduled any follow-up appointments to confirm a plan was in place.

The Board concluded that “the preponderance of the evidence demonstrated that Dr. Roman failed to perform a full physical examination of Lily, in violation of the standard of care applicable to veterinarians in Massachusetts.” “Dr. Roman’s conduct arises to the level of Professional misconduct,” it concluded.

On August 13, 2015, the Board voted unanimously to suspend Dr. Roman’s license for a period of two years. Further, they ordered Roman to pay a fine of $2,000, and to complete thirty Continuing Education credits during the suspension. However, on August 26, 2015, Roman’s Attorney John J. Finn of Hopkinton filed a motion to stay the order, citing multiple factors, namely that Dr. Roman’s clients may have difficulty finding a new vet. 

Mr. Finn prevailed, and the Board elected to place her on probation rather than suspend her license entirely. Dr. Roman continued to practice.

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