The Iowa Board of Medicine regulates the state’s medical profession as part of the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing. (Photo by Getty Images, board seal courtesy the State of Iowa)
The Iowa Board of Medicine, after being accused of “prosecution by ambush,” has prevailed in its efforts to deny a physician access to its investigative files on him.
Dr. Hamza Alsayouf, a child neurologist and epileptologist who once worked as a pediatric neurologist at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, took the board to court earlier this year in effort to gain access to confidential, investigative records of the board.
During Alsayouf’s years practicing in Des Moines, he served as an assistant professor at Des Moines Osteopathic Medical School, and then, in 2012, he began a nine-year stint practicing pediatric neurology in Abu Dhabi. Since 2021, he has practiced in Amman, Jordan.
Although Alsayouf doesn’t currently practice in Iowa, his board certification requires him to maintain an active, unrestricted medical license in at least one state in the United States for that certification to be recognized around the world.
In February 2024, Alsayouf received an “investigative inquiry” from the Iowa Board of Medicine, notifying him that it was conducting a “confidential investigation” related to legal proceedings, not yet publicly disclosed, that allegedly occurred outside of the United States.
In court papers filed by Alsayouf’s attorney, the doctor has alleged the board’s probe is related to “certain criminal allegations which allegedly occurred in a foreign country.” The disposition of those legal proceedings occurred “in absentia,” the board has alleged, suggesting the matter was resolved in some way without Alsayouf being present.
Denying any knowledge of any such legal proceedings, Alsayouf asked the board in April to provide him with a copy of its investigative file so he could respond to the allegations. The board refused, arguing that because it had not filed any charges against Alsayouf at that point the investigative material was not accessible to him under Iowa law.
Alsayouf then went to court, filing a petition for judicial review of the board’s decision and asking a judge to issue an order temporarily preventing the board from continuing to pursue its investigation. The court refused to issue such an order, then held a hearing in September on the larger issue of Alsayouf’s access to the investigative file.
Alsayouf’s attorney, Michael Sellers, argued to the court that once the board files charges in a case, it is “much more committed” to imposing discipline against a licensee. He called the board’s disciplinary process “prosecution by ambush.”
Sellers told the court that Alsayouf’s ability to “knowledgeably and meaningfully” respond to the board’s investigation at this stage represented “Alsayouf’s best opportunity to evade discipline.”
Sellers also argued that the board’s position of releasing investigative information only at the point when charges are filed leaves “licensees such as Dr. Alsayouf entirely mute and ignorant to allegations that may be easily resolved prior to public indictment.”
Polk County District Court Judge Lawrence McLellan recently ruled against Alsayouf, stating that while there is no argument that licensees are entitled to the board’s investigative file after charges are filed, the Iowa Supreme Court has ruled in the past that such disclosure “is barred unless or until a disciplinary proceeding against the licensee is initiated.”
The court’s decision clears the way for the board to continue its investigation without turning over the records.
The available court documents give no indication as to whether the board anticipates filing any charges in the case.