Former University of Iowa physician appeals disciplinary-issue ruling to Iowa Supreme Court

A former University of Iowa Health Care physician is appealing a court decision tied to an Iowa Board of Medicine investigation into his conduct.

In 2021, the Iowa Board of Medicine charged Dr. Shafik N. Wassef, 42, an Iowa-licensed physician who formerly practiced in Iowa City, with violating patient privacy standards.

A year later, in March 2022, the board amended and expanded its statement of charges in the case, charging Wassef with the added offenses of professional incompetence, practicing in a manner that is harmful or detrimental to the public and unprofessional conduct.

The board has not publicly disclosed any of the alleged conduct that gave rise to the charges.

In 2024, the board agreed to hand the case off to an administrative law judge. Wassef then sought summary judgment in the matter, which would have resulted in dismissal of the charges before the planned disciplinary hearing could be held.

The administrative law judge denied the request for summary judgment, which prompted Wassef to file a petition in Polk County District Court, seeking judicial review of that decision.

Polk County District Judge David Nelmark then ordered that all court records that “describe the (board’s) investigation and/or the factual basis of the disciplinary charges” against Wassef be sealed from public view.

In a recent ruling, Nelmark granted the state’s request to dismiss Wassef’s lawsuit.

In doing so, Nelmark noted that while he would “not go into the alleged wrongdoing” in the case, the board’s allegations against Wassef “involve HIPAA violations” — a reference to the federal Health Information Portability and Accountability Act, which protects patient records from unwarranted disclosure.

In his lawsuit, Wassef argued the Board of Medicine violated its own rules when it did not identify any evidence to support the disciplinary charges against him when arguing that the administrative law judge should deny Wassef’s request that the disciplinary matter be dismissed through summary judgment.

In his decision, Nelmark wrote that it’s clear the board has identified for Wassef the names of the individuals involved in the patient-privacy matter, and the time period in which the alleged violations occurred.

“It is not clear to the court what additional evidence Dr. Wassef was seeking from the board that he did not receive,” Nelmark wrote in his decision. “Dr. Wassef asserts that his actions did not constitute HIPAA violations and that the investigation into his conduct was flawed, but it does not appear that he is unclear as to what the board alleges he did.”

Wassef has appealed Nelmark’s ruling to the Iowa Supreme Court.

Court records indicate Wassef is currently a resident of Florida, where he has an active medical license. In his petition, Wassef argues his Florida license will be adversely affected by the pending disciplinary charges if the case is permitted to proceed to a full disciplinary hearing.

Separately, Wassef is currently suing the University of Iowa Hospitals, alleging that in June 2018, just before his graduation from the UIHC residency program, he was contacted by the hospital’s compliance office and informed he had committed multiple HIPAA violations.

The hospital, Wassef alleges, then filed a complaint against him with the state licensing board and contacted the alleged patient “victims” in the matter to inform them of the situation and invite them to make formal complaints with the board.

The lawsuit, filed in December 2023, alleges the hospital’s allegations are false and have caused “catastrophic professional damage in his field that is ongoing to this day.”

The hospital has denied any wrongdoing. A trial in the case is scheduled for Oct. 13, 2026.

This article was first published by Iowa Capital Dispatch.