Doctor borrowed $300K from patient, then diagnosed her with dementia

A Tennessee doctor has retired her medical license after it was discovered she borrowed a hefty sum from a longtime patient, then diagnosed the woman with dementia when she asked for her money back, according to state discipline records.

But the doctor now insists she was “set up” by a vindictive patient, and said she only agreed to retire after state attorneys presented her with an unwinnable legal case.

“It was all lies and I was told that if I fought it would be extremely costly to me,” Dr. Suellen Lee said Tuesday. “And there would still be no benefit. There was no chance of reversal.”

Lee, 79, an internal medicine specialist in Columbia, retired her license last month in a peculiar case before the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners, which is responsible for disciplining doctors throughout the state. Government attorneys said Lee borrowed $300,000 from a patient when her medical clinic fell on hard times, and when the patient later requested repayment, Lee diagnosed her with dementia in an apparent effort to escape the debt.

The patient — identified in records only as E.W. — had been treated by Lee for 25 years and also was a personal friend and a co-worker. State records say Lee sent a letter about E.W.’s diagnosis to the patient’s daughter, who in turn forwarded the letter to the patient’s financial company, which resulted in her being denied access to her assets.

When Lee was questioned by investigators, she admitted she diagnosed E.W. purely “on observation,” without the use of any testing method or a second opinion from a mental health professional, according to state records.

A psychologist later assessed E.W., finding “no indication of dementia,” the records say.