What happened to Dr Roxy? Plastic surgeon’s TikTok live streaming controversy explained
Dr Roxy/TikTokTikTok personality and plastic surgeon Dr. Roxy lost her medical license after she broadcast some patients’ procedures live on the app. Here’s what happened.
TikTok can be a great way for doctors to educate people on health-related topics as well as share what the day-to-day life of being a doctor is like.
However, due to HIPAA and other restrictions on what doctors are and aren’t allowed to say about patients, the type of content they can make is restricted.
This didn’t stop Dr. Katharine Roxanne Grawe however who frequently livestreamed her surgeries, arguing that it was educational for her viewers
Grawe accumulated 846,000 followers and 14.6 million likes on her TikTok account, where she was known as “Dr Roxy.” Clients would come to her after watching her TikToks as they were impressed by what they saw. Unfortunately, this didn’t stop Grawe’s local medical board from coming after her, which made her stop making TikToks. But what happened next?
What happened to Dr Roxy?
The Ohio Medical Board suspended Grawe’s medical license on November 18, 2022, according to The Columbus Dispatch, two months after Grawe got a warning from the board that filming operations were “unprofessional”.
The board said at the time that her continued practice presented “a danger of immediate and serious harm to the public” for not paying full attention to her patients but instead to her livestreams during surgeries.
The surgeon, who often posted videos of herself dancing in her scrubs, spent July 2023 battling in court to have her license reinstated.
Despite her efforts, officials at the Ohio State Medical Board ruled on July 12, 2023, to permanently revoke her medical license and to fine her $4,500. It came after the medical board investigated her for livestreaming operations on TikTok, as well as surgical complications reported by patients, the New York Times reported.
During the hearing, Grawe claimed she always asked permission, but the state medical board said it was inappropriate to share the footage – and that the procedures should have had her full attention.
Speaking to the board, ABC6 reported that she said: “I ask you from the bottom of my heart to please consider my thoughts with an open mind.
“This has humbled me more than you can know. I am willing to change my social media practices and I will never live stream a surgery again.”
In response, a medical board member replied: “We’ve seen an extreme lack of professionalism.
“Her posts were done as a marketing ploy. In the video (referring to the stream of surgery for Patient One named in case), you can see her looking at the camera and not paying attention to the patient.”
Where is Dr Roxy now?
In an Instagram comment on July 12, Grawe wrote: “Right now I’m just focusing on taking great care of my kids & that means staying here for them.”
“Why do you think they really went hard on you?” one follower on Instagram asked in those comments. “Many drs and surgeons have complaints … and they still can practice.”
Grawe responded: “Witch hunt.”
It is unknown what Dr. Roxy will do now after losing her medical license. By having her license permanently revoked, it means that she is now not allowed to practice medicine anymore, and she won’t ever be able to have it reinstated.
This most likely means that she will have to find a new career. We will update this article with more updates as they come in.
