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Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018
| Contributor Information
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Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
In 2018, the world lost several prominent physicians and researchers who represented the "best" in their chosen field, including geriatric oncology, psychiatry, plastic surgery, endocrinology, and other areas. Others won prestigious awards, provided life-saving aid during an in-flight medical emergency, and blew the whistle on an illegal cancer drug scheme. However, with the good comes the bad. Other physicians, representing the "worst" in the profession, contributed to the opioid epidemic by running "pill mills" and taking kickbacks from opioid manufacturers. Others scammed Medicare of millions, sexually abused children and adults in their care, and one fertility doctor used his own sperm to impregnate multiple women.
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Image from Fred Lee/City of Hope
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Arti Hurria, MD, 'Giant' in Geriatric Oncology, Dies in Car Accident
Arti Hurria, MD, the acclaimed and beloved geriatric oncologist, died in an automobile accident in California in November. A medical oncologist, Hurria "pioneered" geriatric cancer care, according to a statement from her home institution, the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte. Hurria was the George Tsai Family Chair in Geriatric Oncology and director, Center for Cancer and Aging at City of Hope, among her many titles, appointments, and commitments. When she received the endowed chair, Hurria described her vision for the future of geriatric oncology. "It's my mission, what I like to call 'the dream,'" she told a packed room, "that all older adults with cancer will receive personalized, tailored care, utilizing evidence-based medicine with a multidisciplinary approach." Upon her death, the oncology community took to Twitter to memorialize Hurria, calling her a "towering" figure in her field, a "powerhouse" and a "kind, thoughtful and generous visionary."
Image courtesy of David Hathcox
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Righting a Wrong: Psychiatrists Honored for Vietnam Service
Seventeen former US Army psychiatrists gathered on a grassy expanse on the National Mall in Washington, DC, near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, awaiting recognition that had been a long time coming. On that day in November, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) held a ceremony to honor them, and almost 200 of their peers, all of whom had served in the Vietnam War. The APA ceremony was not just an acknowledgment of the 50th year since the height of the war, but an explicit apology to those mental health professionals who had given their all, but had been ignored, forgotten, and during and soon after the war, even pilloried for their participation in the military effort. APA President Altha Stewart, MD, said it was time to right a wrong. "There are times in our past when we may not have done as good a job as we might have wanted in addressing some of the realities that occur in the lives of many of the people, including minorities, underrepresented groups, and also our veterans," said Stewart. "It is an honor to stand before you today to say thank you for your service then, and to say to active service members, thank you for your service today," she said.
Image courtesy of Daniel Christidis/Twitter
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Doctor, 33, Killed in Great Barrier Reef Shark Attack
Daniel Christidis, MD, PhD, aged 33, a surgical registrar and soon-to-be urology trainee from Melbourne, Australia, was killed by a shark in Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Christidis was with 10 friends — most of whom were medical professionals — who rented a yacht and left from Queensland's mainland to sail on a 5-day cruise through the Whitsunday Islands. He was attacked while paddle boarding. In an Instagram post, Christidis' brother Michael said Daniel's "devotion to his role as a surgeon & his deep sense of empathy saw him well respected by colleagues and patients alike. He would illuminate any room he entered with his charm & wit (both of which I often tried to compete with, but to no avail). I've lost a brother, best friend & mentor, but I will not lose the spark Dan provided me each and every day, inspiring & driving me to be a better person."
Image courtesy of Mayo Clinic
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Three Clinicians Used Quick Thinking During In-Flight Emergency
Aditya Shah, MD, an infectious disease fellow at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, was settling into a Delta Airlines flight from London to Minneapolis when the pilot requested medical help. Shah, Anne Hanson, a retired nurse, and Blake Tyra, an emergency medical technician, quickly responded. They assessed the passenger, Jim Rogers, who was in severe pain and was wearing an eye patch on his right eye. When Shah lifted it, blood flowed profusely from a tear in the edge of his cornea. Shah's quick thinking helped stabilize Rogers' condition until they could make an emergency landing in Shannon, Ireland, and Rogers was taken to a local hospital for emergency surgery.
Image from Alamy
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Paul Farmer, MD, Wins National Academy of Sciences' Top Honor
Physician and humanitarian Paul Farmer, MD, PhD, was honored with the National Academy of Sciences' Public Welfare Medal for "pioneering enduring, community-based treatment strategies that demonstrate the delivery of high-quality health care in resource-poor settings in the US and other countries." Established in 1914, the Public Welfare Medal is the academy's most prestigious award. It is presented annually to honor extraordinary use of science for the public good. "Through innovation and sheer perseverance, Paul Farmer has overcome previously insurmountable obstacles to bring the miracles of modern medicine to people who otherwise may never have experienced them," said Marcia McNutt, PhD, president of the National Academy of Sciences.
Image from iStock
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
'Outsider' Oncologist Whistleblowers Share in $100M Reward
A $625 million False Claims Act settlement — one of the largest ever — included a reward of roughly $100 million that is being split among a trio of whistleblowers who exposed an illegal cancer drug scheme perpetrated by AmerisourceBergen Corporation, the major US drug wholesaler. One whistleblower, Michael Mullen, a former chief operating officer at AmerisourceBergen, is an "insider," which is the norm. However, the other two whistleblower lawsuits came from "outsiders" — a pharmacist at a Michigan hospital and another pharmacist at a Florida multispecialty physician group, who detected wrongdoing through their oncology practice. That is unusual because medical fraud is usually rooted in billing and is difficult to detect by clinicians (ie, outsiders), said experts. The two pharmacists reportedly regularly received "prefilled syringes for fictitious patients in amounts that greatly exceeded the proper dosage amount for a single patient's treatment."
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Prominent Endocrinologist Killed in Philippines Van Crash
Nunilo Rubio, MD, a well-known Chicago endocrinologist, and six others were killed in a van crash just before a medical mission in the Philippines. He and his wife, Elenita Rubio, MD, a Chicago internist, were among 10 passengers in the van on a sightseeing tour before starting a 3-day medical mission in Camiguin Island to bring surgical, medical, and optical services to the poor. Nunilo Rubio was medical director of Presence Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, for more than 25 years until his retirement in 2015. One of the greatest physical legacies Rubio leaves is his contribution to the Center for Diabetes and Endocrine Care at the center. It was in large part due to a financial gift Rubio made at his retirement that gave the center the funds to create that clinic. The west Chicago region the clinic serves has one of the highest rates of diabetes in the United States. In addition to full clinical services, it offers educational and dietary classes for the public in a community room that bears Rubio's name.
Image courtesy of Laurent Duvernay-Tardiff
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
From Med School to the NFL Playing Field
Although his job is to become an obstacle himself, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is just as versed in overcoming them. In May, the offensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs graduated from McGill University with his MD, making him the only current active NFL player to hold that degree. Duvernay-Tardif said that around age 16 he became fairly convinced that medicine was for him, and after rotations, he became most interested in emergency medicine. "I love the challenge of treating patients and doing a first contact with a patient and working a differential diagnosis, knowing what resources are available, and what tests to order in order to find your diagnosis." Regarding concussions in sports, Duvernay-Tardif said he's seen a greater awareness among players, coaches, and trainers. "For me, the most important thing is education. I see all the locker room reactions when somebody has a concussion. It's different from 30 years ago. Players are telling guys, 'Don't push it. Respect yourself. Your symptoms are real.'"
Image courtesy of John Hopkins Medicine
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Pioneering Plastic Surgeon in Transgender Care Dies at 96
Milton Edgerton, MD, a pioneering surgeon who helped start the first academic center for sex affirmation surgeries in the United States, died in May after a 3-year struggle with multiple myeloma and malignant melanoma. Colleagues praised his unparalleled contributions to the field of plastic surgery. Edgerton was the first official resident in plastic surgery at Johns Hopkins, and he established the Division of Plastic Surgery and also created its Plastic Surgery Training Program. He also served as president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). Current ASPS President Jeffrey Janis, MD, called Edgerton a "true giant in plastic surgery whose impact was felt far beyond the institutions where he worked. We all owe him an immeasurable debt of gratitude."
Image courtesy of National Institutes of Health
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
NIH Vision Researcher Among Seven to Receive Top Global Award
T. Michael Redmond, PhD, chief of the National Eye Institute (NEI) Laboratory of Retinal Cell and Molecular Biology, received the 2018 António Champalimaud Vision Award — one of the world's most prestigious awards in vision science — for his role in developing gene therapy for a form of the blinding disorder Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA). Redmond's determination to understand the biology of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) led to his discovery of the RPE65 gene, which led to the finding that the RPE65 protein is essential for generating 11-cis retinal and thus powering phototransduction and the visual cycle. Redmond participated in global efforts that pegged lack of the RPE65 protein as a likely cause of LCA. The US Food and Drug Administration approved the gene therapy voretigene neparvovec-rzyl (Luxturna, Spark Therapeutics) in 2017 for the treatment of patients with RPE65 mutation–associated retinal dystrophy, a group of disorders that includes LCA. It is the first and so far only pharmacologic treatment for an inherited retinal disease.
Images courtesy of CDC and Daniel L. Kastner, MD, PhD
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
The Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal Winners
Two physicians are among this year's winners of the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals. The "Sammies" are known as the "Oscars" of government service. Marshalyn Yeargin-Allsopp, MD, associate director for children with special health care needs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was awarded the Career Achievement award for pioneering research to understand the prevalence of autism and other developmental disabilities, influencing the expansion of health, social, and educational services for children with special needs. Daniel L. Kastner, MD, PhD, scientific director, Division of Intramural Research, National Institutes of Health, was named Federal Employee of the Year for identifying an entire new class of rare genetic diseases and treatments. He defined this new class of rare illnesses as autoinflammatory diseases and uncovered the genetic causes of seven of them. He identified 14 other previously unrecognized disorders and has found effective treatments for 12 of them.
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Image courtesy of Leicestershire Police
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
To Err Is Homicide in Britain: The Case of Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba
The case of Hadiza Bawa-Garba, MBChB, is every junior doctor's primal fear. A trainee pediatrician in England's National Health Service, Bawa-Garba was convicted of "manslaughter by gross negligence" for the death of a child from sepsis and was ultimately prevented from practicing medicine by the General Medical Council (GMC). Critics complained that Bawa-Garba had worked long hours, under extreme pressure, was stretched between caring for too many patients on too many wards, was only partially supervised, had only just returned from maternity leave, and was ultimately punished for being too honest about failings through her reflective practice notes. In August, Bawa-Garba won her appeal against the GMC ruling that she be struck from the medical register over the death.
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Image from AP/Shutterstock
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Michigan Revokes Nassar's Medical License, Issues Record Fine
A Michigan regulatory agency permanently revoked the medical license of Larry Nassar, the former team USA gymnastics doctor who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting girls in his care, and fined him a record $1 million. The fine levied by Michigan's Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs amounts to $250,000 for each of four violations of the state's public health code. The department said the fine was the largest ever issued by a health professional or occupational board in its history and was to be paid after Nassar settles all restitution, criminal fees, fines, and civil judgments ordered by the courts. Nassar, a former faculty member and physician at an on-campus clinic at Michigan State University and a doctor for USA Gymnastics, was sentenced in February to up to 125 years in prison after some 200 young women testified about decades of abuse at his hands.
Image courtesy of USC
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
USC Agrees to $215M Settlement in California Gynecologist Case
The University of Southern California (USC) reached a $215 million proposed settlement with former patients of a gynecologist at the school who was accused of sexual abuse. The settlement centers on the conduct of George Tyndall, who practiced at USC until he was suspended in 2016 after a complaint from a health worker accusing him of making sexually inappropriate comments to patients. More than 400 women have since accused Tyndall of sexual abuse, some in a federal lawsuit covered by the settlement and others in state lawsuits that are still pending. Attorneys representing current and former USC students have filed 93 additional lawsuits against USC in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging gross sexual misconduct and sexual assault on campus by Tyndall.
Image courtesy of Collin County Sheriff's Office
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Texas Surgeon Gets 10 Years for Sexually Assaulting Patient
A Texas jury sentenced an orthopedic surgeon to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting a female patient. The jury agreed with prosecutors that Donald Okechukwu Ozumba, MD, 45, had assaulted a woman in 2016 while he was giving her a steroid injection in her hip. According to a complaint against Ozumba filed by the Texas Medical Board, the woman in the case reported that on her visit for a hip injection, she felt the cord from the sonogram machine moving back and forth inside her labia. When she returned for a second injection, she said that she felt Ozumba's fingers on her labia and clitoris, and on a third postsurgical visit, she said his finger penetrated her vagina. After Ozumba's arrest, more women came forward to report similar behavior while they were being examined or receiving injections for knee or hip pain.
Image from Dreamstime
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Sexual Abuse Allegations Name Pediatric Endocrinologist
New York City's Rockefeller University Hospital has taken belated steps to make amends for alleged sexual abuse by a pediatric endocrinologist who worked there from the 1940s through the 1980s. The physician, Reginald Archibald, MD, specialized in treating short stature. He worked at Rockefeller from 1941-1946 and then again from 1948-1982, and was a professor emeritus there until 1987. He died in 2007. The allegations against Archibald include asking children — mostly young boys ages 6 to 17 years — to strip naked and pose for photos; touching them inappropriately, including masturbating them and asking them to masturbate in front of him; and measuring their penises both flaccid and erect. In a statement, the university said it was informed of a report by a former patient in 2004 alleging Archibald's inappropriate behavior. At the time, the university notified the appropriate authorities and instituted additional policies to protect pediatric patients.
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
License Suspended for Doctor Who Danced, Rapped in Surgeries
The medical license of an Atlanta-area dermatologist who posted videos of herself rapping and dancing while performing cosmetic surgery has been suspended. Windell Davis-Boutté, MD, has been sued by at least seven women for negligence, among other allegations, after cosmetic procedures resulted in permanent damage, according to the Washington Post. Davis-Boutté posted more than 20 videos of herself singing and dancing in the operating room as a marketing tool for her practice in Lilburn, Georgia, while patients lay immobile, often with buttocks exposed. Among the lawsuits is the case of Icilma Cornelius, 54, who was weeks away from her wedding when she went to Davis-Boutté's office for cosmetic surgery. Eight hours into the surgery to remove fat and skin from several parts of her body, the Washington Post reported, Cornelius went into cardiac arrest and subsequently suffered catastrophic brain injury. She now relies on a feeding tube and 24-hour care.
Image from AP/Shutterstock
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Fertility Doc Who Used Own Sperm Barred From Practicing Again
Donald Cline, MD, the Indiana fertility doctor who admitted to using his own sperm to impregnate women, surrendered his license, and the state medical board barred him from ever being able to apply for reinstatement. Cline ran a fertility clinic during the 1970s and 1980s in the Indianapolis area and allegedly may have fathered dozens of children, unbeknownst to the couples who came to Cline seeking anonymous sperm donation to start a family. What they got instead was Cline's sperm, according to the Indiana Attorney General's office. It's unknown exactly how many women Cline deceived, how many children he may have fathered, and his motive behind his actions. The children, now grown, are finding each other through DNA testing sites like 23andMe. "Not only did Dr Cline abuse his position of complete trust with his patients, his decisions will have lasting impact through generations of the impacted families," Prosecutor Terry Curry said.
Image from Dreamstime
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Calls to Retract 31 Papers by Disgraced Cardiac Stem Cell Doc
In October, Harvard University and Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston called for the retraction of 31 journal studies by Piero Anversa, MD, who left the hospital in disgrace over research misconduct. "Following a review of research conducted in the former lab of Piero Anversa, we determined that 31 publications included falsified and/or fabricated data and we have notified all relevant journals," the institutions wrote in a joint statement. More than a dozen of his studies have been retracted as of this writing. Anversa previously corrected eight of his papers and was at the heart of a $10 million settlement between the hospital and the US government over allegations that research by Anversa and two colleagues had been used to improperly obtain federal funding, according to Retraction Watch and STAT.
Image from AP/Shutterstock
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Pentagon Watchdog Opens Probe of White House Physician Ronny Jackson
The US Defense Department's inspector general opened an investigation in June into misconduct allegations against White House physician Rear Admiral Ronny L. Jackson, MD. In March, President Donald Trump nominated Jackson to replace the embattled Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) David Shulkin. But Jackson withdrew from consideration a month later amid allegations that he oversaw a hostile work environment as the White House physician and that he permitted the overprescribing of drugs. Jackson has denied the allegations. Jackson had worked as a presidential physician since 2006. After withdrawing his nomination for the VA post, Jackson stopped serving as Trump's lead physician.
Image from Dreamstime
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
New York Surgeon Gets 13 Years in Prison for Medicare Fraud
New York surgeon Syed Imran Ahmed, MD, was sentenced in federal court in Brooklyn to 13 years in prison for multimillion-dollar Medicare fraud. Ahmed was ordered to pay $7.3 million in restitution, forfeit $7.3 million, and pay a $20,000 fine. Ahmed, 51, of Glen Head, New York, who specialized in wound care and weight loss, was convicted in 2016 on one count of healthcare fraud, three counts of making false statements related to healthcare matters, and two counts of money laundering. Ahmed treated Medicare "like a personal piggy bank, stealing over $7.2 million by making fraudulent claims for medical procedures he never performed," said US Attorney Richard P. Donoghue of the Eastern District of New York. "His 13-year prison sentence and the heavy payments imposed should send a powerful message of deterrence to other medical professionals."
Image from Dreamstime
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Beverly Hills Radiologist Gets 10 Years in Fraud Case
Ronald Grusd, MD, a radiologist from Beverly Hills, California, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted of 39 felony fraud counts related to charges that he paid referring physicians for imaging services such as MRI and ultrasound scans, according to the website AuntMinnie.com. The scam was uncovered as part of an investigation dubbed Operation Backlash. Grusd's companies, California Imaging Network Medical Group and Willows Consulting, paid referring doctors in San Diego and Imperial counties kickbacks for patient referrals to fraudulently bill insurance companies for more than $22 million in medical services, according to evidence presented at trial.
Image from AP/Shutterstock
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Florida Doctor Linked to New Jersey Senator Sentenced in Fraud Case
A Florida ophthalmologist linked by prosecutors to New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez in an unsuccessful bribery case against him was sentenced to 17 years in prison after an unrelated Medicare fraud conviction. Salomon Melgen was also ordered to repay $42 million to Medicare after an 8-week jury trial, in which he was convicted on 67 counts of healthcare fraud and related charges. The sentence also includes 3 years of supervised release after Melgen serves his prison time, and the possibility of more restitution to insurance companies and patients. Prosecutors had accused Melgen, 63, of fraudulently taking as much as $105 million from Medicare. He gave patients unnecessary tests and treatments from 2008 to 2013, and he filed numerous claims to Medicare for tests conducted on patients with prosthetic eyes or who were blind, they said.
Image from Dreamstime
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Detroit Doc Gets Over 11 Years in Jail for $8.9M Medicare Scam
Millicent Traylor, MD, a physician working in the Detroit area, was sentenced to 135 months in prison for her role in a scheme to defraud Medicare of roughly $8.9 million. Traylor, 47, was convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, one count of conspiracy to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks, and five counts of healthcare fraud. Traylor's codefendant, Muhammad Qazi, 48, was sentenced to 42 months in prison; her codefendant Christina Kimbrough, MD, 39, was sentenced to 27 months in prison; and her other codefendant, Jacklyn Price, 34, was sentenced to 160 months in prison. Qazi, Price, and Kimbrough each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud.
Image from Dreamstime
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Texas Doctor Takes Plea Deal on Pre-Signed Prescription Scam
An Arlington, Texas, physician reached a plea deal in August for his role in a hospice scheme that defrauded Medicare and Medicaid out of $60 million, The Dallas Morning News reported. Charles Raymond Leach, MD, 65, entered a plea of guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit heathcare fraud. As part of his plea agreement, Leach said he falsified documents and pre-signed blank prescription forms in bulk, which were then filled in by other people and used to obtain controlled substances, including morphine and hydromorphone. Nurses then allegedly used high doses of those drugs to hasten patients' deaths.
Image courtesy of Fannin County Sheriff's Department
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Doctor Receives 20 Years in Opioid Overdose Deaths
Howard Gregg Diamond, MD, who prescribed unnecessary and powerful painkillers that contributed to the deaths of at least seven people, pleaded guilty to federal drug distribution charges. Diamond, who was principal physician at the Diamondback Pain and Wellness Center in Sherman, Texas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances; healthcare fraud; and aiding and abetting. Diamond had faced up to life in prison. At his plea hearing, he agreed to a sentence of 20 years in federal prison and forfeited his DEA registration number. "Physicians like Dr Diamond have been fueling the opioid crisis in this country," said US Attorney Joseph D. Brown. "The number of pills that he was putting out on the street was shocking. And in this case, death was linked to those pills."
Image from John Marshall Mantel/ZUMA Wire/Alamy
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Elderly Doctor, Wife Who Ran NYC 'Pill Mill' Headed to Jail
An elderly internal medicine physician and his wife and office manager were sentenced to prison for running a prescription opioid "pill mill" on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, which led to roughly 3.2 million oxycodone pills with a street value of nearly $80 million flooding the streets of New York City. Rogelio Lucas, MD, 80, was sentenced to 1 to 4 years in prison on one count of conspiracy in the fourth degree and 1.5 years in prison on each of 29 counts of criminal sale of a prescription for a controlled substance, to run concurrently. Lydia Lucas, 82, was sentenced to 1 to 3 years in prison for conspiracy in the fourth degree and 1 year in prison on each of 29 counts of criminal sale of a prescription for a controlled substance, all to run concurrently. The sentences reflect the "serious consequences that practitioners who abandon their oaths to 'do no harm' should expect to face," said Bridget G. Brennan, New York City's special narcotics prosecutor.
Image courtesy of Broward County Sheriff's Office
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Surgeon Gets Life in Prison for Role in Opioid Death
Johnny Clyde Benjamin, MD, an orthopedic surgeon in Florida, was sentenced to life in prison in a federal district court in Fort Lauderdale for his role in the overdose death of a 34-year-old woman. A jury found that Benjamin, 52, used his Vero Beach office to make counterfeit oxycodone. The pills, which were laced with furanyl fentanyl, were linked in an investigation to the overdose death of Margaret "Maggie" Crowley, of Wellington, Florida, in Palm Beach County, according to the news site TC Palm. Benjamin was convicted on charges that included conspiring with two men, who were DEA informants, to possess and distribute the furanyl fentanyl on which Crowley overdosed; possessing acetyl fentanyl with the intent to distribute; and conspiring with the informants to possess and distribute various prescription opioids in 2016.
Image courtesy of Atlantic County Prosecutor's office
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Doctor Charged With Running Pill Mill With Bike Gang, Wife's Murder
A New Jersey endocrinologist, James Kauffman, MD, was charged with arranging the murder of his wife, April Kauffman, who was a local radio host. She was shot dead at their home in 2012, and Kauffman had been the subject of much speculation regarding her death, with her family long suspecting him of playing a role. Prosecutors outlined a lurid tale that they say led him to hire someone to kill his wife. This involved him running an opioid "pill mill" together with a motorcycle gang called Pagan Outlaw, according to a report on Philly.com. April Kauffman found out about the illegal drug-prescribing scheme and threatened to expose it, and she also wanted out of the marriage, prosecutors said. "As a result of April Kauffman's desire to divorce James Kauffman, he was intent to have her killed, as opposed to losing his 'financial empire,' as he described it to several individuals," noted Atlantic County prosecutor Damon Tyner. While awaiting trial for murder, Kauffman was found dead of an apparent suicide in his jail cell.
Image from Gavin Awerbuch/Facebook
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Doctor Tied to Insys Opioid Kickback Probe Gets Prison Term
A Michigan doctor linked to a federal investigation into allegations that Insys Therapeutics Inc paid kickbacks to medical practitioners to prescribe its flagship opioid product was sentenced to 32 months in prison. Dr Gavin Awerbuch, 59, admitted that he wrote prescriptions for Insys' fentanyl-based cancer pain medication Subsys for nonlegitimate uses and committed healthcare fraud. Prosecutors said Awerbuch operated a pain management clinic in Saginaw, Michigan, and was once the nation's largest prescriber of Subsys to people covered by Medicare. According to authorities, Awerbuch wrote prescriptions for Subsys to patients for no legitimate medical purpose, and he billed insurers and Medicare for unnecessary neurologic tests.
Image from YouTube
Physicians of the Year 2018: Best & Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Darbe Rotach; Deborah Flapan | December 19, 2018 | Contributor Information
Rhode Island Doctor in Insys Opioid Kickback Probe Faces Sentencing
The Insys investigation also snared Rhode Island doctor Jerrold Rosenberg, who admitted to receiving $188,000 in kickbacks from the company in exchange for prescribing Subsys. Rosenberg was sentenced to 51 months in prison. Prosecutors said patients with chronic pain placed their trust in Rosenberg, only to be prescribed Subsys, which is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for cancer pain. Two patients nearly died from overdoses, prosecutors said. They said Rosenberg continued treating patients with Subsys even when they complained of adverse effects. Rosenberg has surrendered his medical license and lost his appointment at Brown University's medical school. He has also been ordered to pay more than $750,000 in restitution to insurance companies.
This year's list features celebrated physicians who won awards, and changed lives and medicine for the better vs those who maimed a patient, prescribed drugs for kickbacks, Medicare fraud in the millions, and more.Medscape News Slideshows, December 2017
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