Clinician Crime: March 2024 Round-Up

Foot Bath Medication Scheme Lands Podiatrist in Hot Water

A podiatrist from Tennessee was convicted of 5 counts of health care fraud related to a scheme where he prescribed and dispensed medically unnecessary foot bath medications.  The podiatrist owned and operated a podiatry clinic and 2 in-house pharmacies; these pharmacies submitted nearly $4 million in claims to Medicare and TennCare for dispensing expensive antibiotic and antifungal drugs to be mixed into a tub of water for patients to soak their feet. These medications, which were dispensed as capsules, creams, and powders, were not even water soluble. The pharmacies were reimbursed over $3 million for these unnecessary treatments. The podiatrist faces up to 10 years in prison on each count of fraud.

Nurse Practitioner Trades Opioids for Money, Sex, and Fame 

A Tennessee nurse practitioner (NP) was sentenced to 20 years in prison for illegally prescribing medically unnecessary controlled substances to patients through his medical practice. Known locally as the “Rock Doc”, the NP prescribed more than 100,000 doses of hydrocodone, oxycodone, and fentanyl to his patients, including a pregnant woman. According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee, the NP maintained “a party-type atmosphere” at his medical practice and was known to engage in inappropriate physical relationships with some of his female patients. It is believed that part of the reason he prescribed these drugs was to improve his popularity on social media and promote a self-produced reality TV show pilot.

Drug Dealing Pharmacist Gets Prison Time for Unlawful Distribution

A Michigan pharmacist was sentenced to 8 years and 4 months in federal prison for filling fake prescriptions for controlled substances that totalled over 300,000 dosage units. These prescriptions were issued by a local doctor who was charged with unlawfully writing for controlled substances. The doctor pleaded guilty to the charge but died before sentencing. The pharmacist made over $780,000 from the distribution of these drugs from her pharmacy; the estimated street value was reported to be between $1.8 and $3.3 million. In addition to prison time, she was ordered to forfeit the proceeds of her drug dealing scheme.

Doctor Writes Undercover Agent Opioid Rx Without Legit Medical Purpose

A California doctor was sentenced to 1 year and 1 day in federal prison for distributing opioids outside the scope of medical practice. The internal medicine physician operated her practice from her home and was authorized to prescribe controlled substances. Concerning information obtained from a family member of one of the doctor’s former patients prompted an investigation into the doctor’s prescribing practices. An undercover agent was sent to her home complaining of leg pain and asking for hydrocodone 10mg tablets. The doctor prescribed the undercover agent 60 high dose hydrocodone tablets. No physical examination was conducted and no follow-up questions were asked; the doctor did not obtain medical records or provide an alternative treatment plan. In court, the doctor admitted that she knew she was prescribing an addictive medication outside the usual course of medical practice. According to the US Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of California, the doctor wrote these prescriptions in exchange for cash and street drugs, including cocaine and methamphetamine. In addition to her prison sentence, she was ordered to forfeit her medical license and pay a $4000 fine.

Physician Forks Over Thousands of Dollars for Genetic Testing Scheme

A Pennsylvania physician was ordered to pay a large sum of money for violating the False Claims Act by ordering unnecessary genetic testing for Medicare beneficiaries. The doctor referred more than 400 patients, with whom he had no medical relationship with, for these medically unnecessary genetic tests. Most referrals were done through brief telemedicine consultations and some were done without consultation at all. These genetic tests were reported to cost thousands of dollars per patient and were paid for by Medicare. According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the physician is responsible for paying $95,000 to resolve the allegations. Commenting on the case, Maureen R. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge for the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, Region III, said: “Accurately billing for services provided to Medicare beneficiaries is required of all health care providers. HHS-OIG and the US Attorney’s Office will continue to evaluate and pursue allegations of medically unnecessary services.”