A Melbourne woman is being investigated for allegedly working as an unregistered doctor for three years at a cosmetic clinic in the city’s outer south-west.
Phoebe Pacheco worked at the Werribee Cosmetic Clinic from January 2013 to October 2016, before she was stopped by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
The AHPRA became aware she may have been practicing despite being unregistered in September 2016 and carried out a warrant at the clinic in October.
Victoria's Acting Chief Health Officer Dr Brett Sutton said she was accused of carrying out GP consultations and minor procedures.
"Obviously the worst-case scenario is that someone has had a misdiagnosis or inappropriate management advice," he said.
"We know that this will be a cause of anxiety for a number of people so we want to be able to reinforce the advice that we have not get evidence of actual harms occurring to people."
Letters have been written by AHPRA to 145 patients advising them of the situation.
Dr Sutton said those patients and others who may have been treated by Ms Pacheco should see a registered medical practitioner as a precaution.
"We certainly want to take the precautionary approach of advising anyone who's seen Ms Pacheco to follow up with a GP," he said.
Convictions for working as medical practitioner without being registered carry fines of up to $30,000.
The investigation followed on the heels of revelations about a man for more than a decade.
This post originally appeared on ABC News.
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