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by Kurtis Ming
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ― CBS13 found more than two dozen patients with complaints about Dr. Brian west. Some have sued for malpractice, he's settled in at least 3 cases.

We've learned the California state medical board knew about his drinking problem, but he was allowed to treat patients anyway.

"If the medical board is here to protect people, then what the heck is going on? Because they're not protecting us. They didn't protect me," says Becky Anderson.

Normally the medical board would investigate a doctor with two DUI arrests to see if he or she deserves to keep their license to practice. But Dr. West found the one way to stop that investigation was to enroll in the medical board's alcohol monitoring program called Diversion, where the state is supposed to keep an eye on him to make sure his drinking is not putting patients at risk.

"This is really a horrible case, and it illustrates the shortcomings of the Diversion program," says Auditor Julie D'Angelo Felmeth.

Dr. Julie D'Angelo Felmeth of University of San Diego spent more than 2 years auditing the medical board. In her 400 page report she outlines how the diversion program has failed to protect the public. One of the biggest breakdowns? Random alcohol and drug testing. The diversion program was not screening doctors 4 times a month as required and according to the audit, on days they could anticipate.

"In many cases they are practicing while relapsing and the program is not adequately detecting those relapses or removing them quickly and decisively from practicing," says D'Angelo. "That means patients are not protected from physicians who are known to the medical board to have a serious substance abuse problem."

The way the program is set up, the only way a patient would ever know their doctor has an alcohol or drug problem is if they detect it on their own, or if the doctor fails out of the Diversion program.

Dr. West did eventually flunk out of the program. 2-and-a-half years after enrolling, meaning that for the first time the public would get a glimpse of his problems. Once you read through it, it's clear the Dr. West case is a prime example of the state's mistakes.

A Dr. West employee told the state she was aware Dr. West continued to drink. Occasionally he showed signs of the prior evenings alcohol use. Yet, the state's supposed random alcohol checks did not detect it in the same time frame.

The system failed.

Executive director for the medical board Dave Thornton wasn't in charge then, but is up front admitting the problems pointed out in the audit.

"I would have to believe the opportunity was there for a physician to game the system when they wanted to," says Thornton. "Like Dr. West found a way to do it, and did it."

The same Dr. West staffer who knew he continued to drink later told the state he directed her, to sign in for him at AA meetings he didn't attend. Even more surprising, the Diversion program approved the Dr. West employee to be his work site monitor - the person the state relied on, to report any relapses.

KURTIS: How can the diversion program allow someone he had the power to hire and fire, be his worksite monitor?
THORNTON: I agree with you, that never should've happened.
KURTIS: And his patients ended up getting injured during this time period.
THORNTON: I think the record supports what you just said, and I don't argue with that.

Since taking over two-years ago, Thornton says the program has had a complete overhaul, and claims you can now trust doctors confidentially enrolled in Diversion are properly being watched with regular and random alcohol testing. But even today, unless a doctor fails out of the program, you'll have no idea your physician may be battling a dangerous addiction.

KURTIS: Don't you believe patients deserve to know if their doctor has an alcohol problem?
THORNTON: But the law does not allow us to disclose that information to the public.
KURTIS: It seems the doctors privacy is put before the patient.
THORNTON: Well I think what we put primarily out in front is the protection of the patient, and if we can achieve that, while getting the treatment for the doctor he or she needs, that's what we need to do.
KURTIS: How do I know my doctor isn't an alcoholic?
THORNTON: I suppose you can always ask them.

And hope a doctor tells the truth. Outside of that, you've got to trust the medical board is doing its job.

"I think he [West] needs to have his license revoked permanently. I don't think he should be allowed to diagnose a sore throat," says Becky Anderson

"We rely on the medical board to pull from practice doctors who have become incompetent, or negligent, reckless or impaired, and if the medical board doesn't do that, we're all at risk -- grave risk," says D'Angelo.

Dr. West shut down his Roseville practice in 2004, filed for bankruptcy and joined the military as a plastic surgeon, but we're told he was never allowed to touch a patient. A judge overseeing his case for failing out of diversion had the power to strip him of his license last year. Instead, Brian West got probation.

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