Disciplinary action taken against Chelmsford doctor

No license restrictions stem from 2012 incident

CHELMSFORD >> The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine announced they have taken disciplinary action against a Chelmsford pediatrician whose negligence in caring for an infant more than a decade ago caused the patient to suffer injuries including “developmental delays and vision deficits.”

The board said in October that they admonished the license of Dr. Mark Gilchrist — which includes no license restrictions or fines — after he agreed that his care and treatment of the approximately 2-monthold boy constituted malpractice.

A consent order filed by the board states Gilchrist, who practices in a private office in Chelmsford, saw the infant for an appointment on May 1, 2012, after the parents reported the boy was experiencing “congestion, fussiness, poor feeding, and sleep disturbance.”

The vital signs obtained for the boy were limited to a weight check and a rectal temperature check that was recorded as 91.7 degrees, which the board stated “is dangerously low and an acute and potentially lifethreatening emergency requiring immediate medical attention.” An initial check of the infant’s blood sugar displayed normal levels.

According to the board, after a conversation with the infant’s pediatric endocrinologist, Gilchrist sent the infant to Lowell General Hospital to have labs drawn. The same day, a repeat blood sugar level was obtained from the boy, which the board stated was “abnormally low” and “may have been an indication of hypoglycemia.” The board stated, however, that Gilchrist incorrectly assumed the blood sugar reading was a lab error.

Approximately 10 hours after the appointment visit, the board said the boy stopped breathing and had no pulse. The infant was taken to Lowell General Hospital, “where on presentation his temperature was unrecordable and his oxygen saturation level was extremely low.”

A laboratory examina

tion showed the infant had respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which is a lung infection.

The infant was transferred to a children’s hospital where additional resuscitation measures were taken. The board said he endured seizures and “large infarcts attributed to shock and brain hypoxia/anoxia.”

The boy subsequently experienced developmental delays and significant vision deficits.

The board stated Gilchrist’s treatment and care of the infant was negligent in five respects, which included his failure to obtain a respiratory rate, heart rate, and oxygen saturation level at the appointment despite the boy’s symptoms of fussiness and congestion, which are consistent with RSV.

The board said Gilchrist

also failed to recheck the infant’s rectal temperature to determine if the 91.7-degree reading was accurate; failed to determine the cause of the boy’s extremely low body temperature; incorrectly assumed the low sugar level was a lab error and did not instruct parents to seek emergent care; and failed to perform and document a detailed physical examination of the boy.

As part of the action by the board, Gilchrist was ordered

to complete five continuing medical education (CME) credits focused on emergent care of infants, and five CME credits in listening and communication skills.

Gilchrist said in a statement to The Sun on Friday that he has since completed all the requirements outlined in the order.

“After almost two decades serving the medical needs of children and families, I am keenly aware of the great responsibility and

privilege that comes with my role,” Gilchrist said. “I respect the Board’s authority and accept the admonishment in which no fines were levied, or restrictions placed on my license. Going forward, I will continue to focus on what matters most — delivering high quality, compassionate care that families in this community expect and deserve.”

Gilchrist has been licensed to practice medicine in Massachusetts

since April 2005 and is also licensed to practice in Florida. From 2009 to 2015, he served as the chief of Pediatrics at Lowell General Hospital. Gilchrist currently serves as the chairman of the Lowell General Physician Hospital Organization’s Board of Directors.

Gilchrist’s private Chelmsford office is located on Meeting House Road.

Follow Aaron Curtis on X, formerly known as Twitter, @aselahcurtis