State Medical Board Suspends Tyma's License

Dr. Thomas Tyma -- accused by more than a dozen former patients of touching them inappropriately -- has been banned temporarily from practicing medicine.

Today's decision to suspend his medical license came after a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Harrisburg, during which Tyma was given the opportunity to present his case.

The Pennsylvania State Department's chief hearing examiner, Frank C. Kahoe Jr., issued the decision. The State Board of Medicine is under the State Department's purview.

A state medical board committee initially suspended Tyma's license on Jan. 31 after Northern Regional police filed criminal charges against him.  A preliminary hearing was required within 30 days of that action.

The pending criminal cases involve female patients who alleged that Tyma, 53, of Sewickley, touched them inappropriately during exams at an office where he practices in Wexford.

Fifteen women  have testified against him in preliminary hearings, including several who said he reached under their bras to touch their breasts. He is charged with 15 counts each of indecent assault and harassment and has been ordered to stand trial in those cases.

In addition to those cases in Allegheny County, the doctor also is charged with one count each of indecent assault and harassment in Lawrence County. That case, stemming from a complaint by a woman who said Tyma treated her in New Castle, is set for a preliminary hearing March 17.

During the hearing Tuesday on Tyma's license, Northern Regional Police Officer Scott Rick testified about the criminal complaints filed in the cases handled by his department and described the women's reports to police.

Tyma testified Tuesday that he always conducts a physical exam that includes listening to the patient's heart with a stethoscope on top of the patient's clothing, according to documents from the hearing.

Seventeen other witnesses attended the hearing in Harrisburg -- three physicians who knew Tyma and referred patients to him, three physician assistants who worked with him, and 11 patients.

Dr. Richard Chalfand, an obstetrician/gynecologist, testified Tyma has a reputation in the community as a competent and ethical medical practitioner, according to documents from the hearing.

Physician assistant Natalie Crescenze said she never heard a patient complain of inappropriate behavior from Tyma.

Three patients testified that Tyma "has a reputation among patients as a competent and caring physician," the documents state.

Tyma presented 153 letters from individuals who attested to his character, according to the hearing documents.