A New Hampshire state judge has dismissed a case brought by an elderly doctor who recently gave up her medical license following a handful of allegations against her.
Among other accusations, Dr. Anna Konopka, 84, has refused to use a computer and participate in the state's new law for an online opioid monitoring program.
"The Court has admiration for Dr. Konopka's devotion to her patients," Merrimack County Superior Court Judge John Kissinger wrote in his Monday order to dismiss the case, according to New Hampshire Public Radio.
"Under these circumstances of this case, however, Dr. Konopka has failed to demonstrate that the extraordinary remedy of an injunction allowing her to continue to practice medicine is appropriate. To hold otherwise would be to ignore the process established by the legislature to regulate the practice of medicine in this state."
In two lengthy phone interviews with Ars earlier this month, Konopka said if she is somehow reinstated by the state's medical board—at this point, a big "if"—she would be willing to learn how to use the Internet to follow New Hampshire law.
Judge Kissinger agreed with the New Hampshire Board of Medicine's motion to dismiss. The Board argued, essentially, that because Konopka voluntarily agreed to relinquish her medical license after a series of investigations, there's no going back now.
In the agreement with the board, which Konopka signed on September 12, she voluntarily surrendered her license to settle pending allegations regarding her "record keeping, prescribing practices, and medical decision making."
Those allegations stem from five separate complaints against her. Under the terms of the agreement, she could reapply to regain her license, but the burden would be on her to prove that she did no wrong.
Konopka has denied any misconduct and asserted that she was under duress when she voluntarily surrendered her license. She underscored that she wants to continue practicing medicine but simply is not concerned with what she calls "electronic medicine," her term for the vast bureaucracy often associated with modern medical practices.
According to NHPR, Konopka has filed a motion for reconsideration.
