Stories about physicians and other healthcare professionals involved in lawsuits—as either a plaintiff or a defendant—or accused of breaking the law. Various legal updates or unusual stories in the news may land here.
It’s unclear why Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare dropped its lawsuit, but it did so with prejudice, meaning the hospital cannot refile. There are many unanswered questions surrounding the unusual case, including how common incidents like this are and whether or not the hospital can technically bill for the time the room was occupied.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit digital civil rights advocacy group, said it filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking more information about the “WISeR” pilot program, which effectively adds a prior-authorization process to traditional Medicare in six states. To date, it’s received no response.
In a complaint filed in federal court, the U.S. Department of Justice claims NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital uses its power of “scale, breadth and configuration” to control payer contracts, making it difficult for insurers to develop low-cost plans. The health system denies any wrongdoing.
The family of Gay Sherman Weintz, 55, said she died as a result of 24-hour physical restraint, combined with staff at Middlesex Hospital ignoring signs of a medical crisis. Her son, Chauncey Smith, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
Mahmood Sami Khan, 36, has been charged on five counts of wire fraud and money laundering in connection with the conspiracy. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
After a three week trial, a jury found that PeaceHealth and Ralph Weiche, MD, acted in accordance with medical protocols in diagnosing Patricia Parker with a psychiatric condition, given her unusual symptoms.
Of those arrested, 96 are doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers. All face charges related to telehealth prescriptions, illegal opioid distribution and fraudulent billing practices.
Digitization of exams has made the imaging industry a “prime target” for cybercriminals, experts wrote recently in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
In a decision issued Wednesday, a judge ruled that Caremark had persuaded insurers to intentionally mislead the government regarding prescription drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries.