An ear, nose and throat specialist who sees patients in the Concord and Salisbury area has been publicly reprimanded after a woman reported he told her to pour hand sanitizer into her ear to treat pain. In a consent order, the state medical board labeled the instruction unsafe and said the doctor's evaluation did not meet accepted clinical standards.
According to the North Carolina Medical Board, the board entered a consent order reprimanding Dr. Robert Patel Quinn last Thursday. The board's online license lookup lists the action as a public reprimand attached to Quinn's medical license.
The Charlotte Observer reports that a 47-year-old woman told the board she saw Quinn in 2024 in Concord for left-ear pain and a feeling of fullness. According to the paper, she said Quinn advised her to put hand sanitizer in her ear, later filed a complaint with the medical board, and that Quinn did not respond to the newspaper's request for comment.
As outlined in a consent order from the North Carolina Medical Board, Quinn performed only a minimal assessment, failed to document an adequate differential diagnosis, and did not offer appropriate diagnostic testing. The order also concludes that trying to treat earwax or ear irritation with hand sanitizer is unsafe and could harm a patient.
Hand Sanitizer Is Not An Ear Remedy
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration notes that alcohol-based hand sanitizers are regulated as over-the-counter drugs and carry label warnings to keep the product out of eyes and away from wounds or mucous membranes, and also warns that sanitizers are flammable. Those Drug Facts warnings underline why introducing sanitizer into the ear canal can cause irritation, chemical burns, or other injury, health officials say.
Safer Options And Standard Care
Clinical guidance recommends softening earwax with cerumenolytic drops - such as carbamide peroxide or mineral oil - or having wax removed in clinic by irrigation or manual extraction when needed. The Mayo Clinic and otolaryngology guidelines emphasize examining the ear before treatment and avoiding home fixes that introduce harsh chemicals into the ear canal.
About The Doctor
Dr. Robert P. Quinn operates an independent ear, nose and throat practice with offices in Concord and Salisbury and is listed as affiliated with Atrium Health Cabarrus and Novant Health Rowan Medical Center, according to his online profiles. Public listings show he has practiced in the region for decades, with clinic locations in Cabarrus and Rowan counties.
What A Reprimand Means
Reprimands are a public form of board discipline that place a formal warning on a physician's record and can be reported to national repositories used by other state boards, the Federation of State Medical Boards explains. Such actions are intended to protect patients and may be paired with education, monitoring, or practice restrictions depending on a board's findings.
The consent order and the patient's complaint were first reported by The Charlotte Observer. Patients who want to check a provider's license status or any public actions can search the North Carolina Medical Board's online records.
