Action taken against former Skagit County medical assistant

MOUNT VERNON, WASH. – The state Medical Assistant Program has charged former Skagit Regional Health certified medical assistant Sheng Yi Tan with unprofessional conduct.

According to a Thursday news release from the state Department of Health, Tan allegedly accessed the records of multiple patients and sent them sexually suggestive messages and photographs from a texting app.

Tan, who has held a certified medical assistant since 2015 and worked for Skagit Regional Health for about 3 1/2 years, also faces felony charges in Skagit County Superior Court.

The charges include computer trespass, extortion and six counts of cyberstalking.

According to charges filed in Skagit County Superior Court in October 2020, between September 2018 and September 2019 several women who worked at or who were patients of a Skagit Regional Health clinic in Mount Vernon received messages and images that were traced back to Tan through his activities in the clinic’s digital records system and through his use of an off-site IP address.

A warrant was issued for Tan’s arrest on Oct. 27, 2020.

He had been living in Mount Vernon at the time of the alleged messaging, but is believed to have moved to North Carolina and then traveled to Singapore before the case was filed, according to court documents.

In its review of Tan’s alleged behavior, the Medical Assistant Program focused on messaging to four patients.

A statement of charges filed with the state Department of Health in September accuses Tan of sexual misconduct, unprofessional conduct, and violating general standards and disclosure regulations for medical providers.