An Ocala physician has been fined $7,500 and placed on probation by state health officials following a medical malpractice complaint that he prescribed unnecessary thyroid medication to a patient who then suffered a heart attack as a result.
Dr. Steven Charles Tieche, who practices at the Recharge Clinic on SW 17th Street in Ocala, appeared before the Florida Board of Medicine on December 5, in Dania Beach. The Board issued its final order on Monday, December 22, placing Tieche’s license on probation for one year.
According to the administrative complaint adopted by the Board, a patient presented to Tieche at Recharge Clinic in June 2023 to discuss hormone replacement therapy. Following an evaluation, Tieche interpreted the patient’s lab results as indicating low thyroid levels. As a result, he prescribed compound thyroid supplements LT3 and LT4.
In early July, Tieche increased the patient’s dosage. By mid-August, the patient returned with severe symptoms, including anxiety, tremors, irregular heart rate, and vomiting, leading Tieche to discontinue the supplements.
Days later, on August 21, 2023, the patient was admitted to the UF Health Leesburg Emergency Department with chest pain and diagnosed with a myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack.
A subsequent review by an endocrinologist revealed that the patient’s original lab results from June showed normal thyroid levels. The specialist diagnosed the patient with thyrotoxicosis, a condition caused by abnormally high levels of thyroid hormone.
State investigators determined that Tieche failed to meet the prevailing professional standard of care by prescribing the supplements in the absence of a confirmed diagnosis of hypothyroidism. The Department of Health charged Tieche with medical malpractice under Florida Statutes.
At the December hearing, Tieche was present and represented by counsel, but the facts of the case were not in dispute. Under the terms of the final order, the Ocala doctor must pay an administrative fine of $7,500 and case costs of $2,847.21 within 30 days. He is also required to complete five hours of continuing medical education (CME), specifically in the area of Thyroid Disorders, within one year.
During his one-year probation, Tieche is prohibited from practicing medicine without indirect supervision from a board-certified family practice or internal medicine physician. This monitoring physician must review 100 percent of Tieche’s endocrine patient records and 25 percent of his active patient records once every quarter.
Tieche must also appear before the board’s probation committee at the beginning and end of his probationary period.
Tieche, who co-founded Recharge Clinic with his wife, is a board certified physician in anesthesiology and holds multiple other certifications.