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Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019
| Contributor Information
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Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
In 2019, the world lost several prominent physicians and
researchers who represented the "best" in their chosen field
including pioneers in cancer prevention and genetics, medical
informatics, and transplant surgery. Others sounded the alarm on
ineffective generics and drew attention to scientific research
that used organ transplants from Chinese prisoners, leading to at
least 20 journal article retractions. Still others were killed in
tragic accidents or murdered while responding to public health
disasters. Other physicians, representing the "worst" in the
profession, sexually abused patients, performed and billed for
unnecessary procedures, and ran opioid "pill mills."
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Image from The Lancet
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Attacks on Hospital in Ebola Zone Kill Cameroonian Doctor
In April, attacks on a hospital at the epicenter of Democratic
Republic of Congo's Ebola outbreak killed a Cameroonian doctor and
injured several others. Dr Richard Valery Mouzoko Kiboung had
arrived in the DRC just 1 month before being killed. He was part
of a large group of disease experts that the World Health
Organization (WHO) recruited to help stop the ongoing Ebola
outbreak there. Mouzoko, an epidemiologist, was tasked with
leading the local response team in one of the worst Ebola hot
spots within the city of Butembo. "This is a very sad day," WHO
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on Twitter.
"Health workers are working around the clock to save lives. Health
workers are #NotATarget."
Image from the Cleveland Clinic
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
'Sheriff' Cardiologist Sounds the Alarm on Ineffective Generics
Harry Lever, MD, is a crusader against harmful generic drugs. The
74-year-old cardiologist, who directs the Cleveland Clinic's
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center, wrote to the US Food and Drug
Administration about his concerns that generic versions of Toprol
XL were ineffective. For years, his patients who had switched from
the brand name Toprol XL to a generic version had complained about
chest pains and other symptoms. When Lever put his patients back
on the brand name drug, the symptoms disappeared. Lever was one of
the first in the United States to raise the alarm about
ineffective and even harmful generic drugs, largely imported from
India and China. "I wish it was more commonly known. Everybody
thinks everything is OK, but it's not…. It's important this stuff
works," said Lever.
Image from Wikimedia Commons
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Tributes to Pioneer of Cancer Prevention With Diet, Dr Paul Talalay
Paul Talalay, MD, an internationally renowned molecular
pharmacologist whose discoveries launched the research field of
cancer prevention, died on March 10 at the age of 95. Talalay led
the team at the Johns Hopkins Laboratory for Molecular
Pharmacology that isolated sulforaphane, a potent anticancer
compound found in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables. The
discovery, published in 1992, garnered global attention as a
breakthrough in understanding the potential link between
cruciferous vegetable consumption and reduced cancer risk.
Talalay's decision in 1993 to switch his laboratory's research
focus from cancer treatment to cancer prevention was met with some
surprise by his colleagues — there was little funding for cancer
prevention research at the time. "Since then, the impact of
Talalay's pioneering research has been profound," Johns Hopkins
Medicine said in a statement.
Image from Reuters
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Killed by Cholera, Yemeni Doctor Knew He Was Fighting "Disastrous" Epidemic
Yemeni doctor Mohammed Abdul-Mughni died of cholera in April
while fighting a surge in cholera cases in his country, which has
been battered by years of war and a shortage of medical staff. In
April, Yemen suffered its third major outbreak of the water-borne
bacterial infection since the conflict broke out in 2015, causing
the world's most urgent humanitarian crisis, which has put 10
million people on the brink of famine, Reuters reported. The
United Nations recorded 110,000 suspected cholera cases and 200
deaths in 3 months. Abdul-Mughni had been working in a temporary
diarrhea treatment center on the grounds of a hospital in Sanaa
that was receiving 120 to 150 severe cases each day. "We are
working to the extremes of our strength," Abdul-Mughni told
Reuters before his death.
Image from The Boston Globe/Getty Images
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Dr Stuart Levy, "Father of Antibiotic Stewardship," Dies at 80
Stuart Levy, MD, a "gifted scholar" and "gentleman" who was
widely known as the father of antibiotic stewardship, died
September 4 at the age of 80. Levy first demonstrated in 1976 that
routine use of antibiotics to promote growth in farm animals could
cause antibiotic resistance in animals and humans. He worked
tirelessly to warn the world about the dangers of misusing
antibiotics, according to an obituary published in The Lancet.
He cofounded the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics
(APUA) in 1981, of which he was president. APUA Chair Pierre
Tattevin, MD, PhD, called Levy the "father of antibiotic
stewardship." Levy was also a past president of the American
Society for Microbiology.
Image from Matthieu Alexandre/AFP/Getty Images
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
This Congolese Doctor Discovered Ebola but Never Got Credit for It — Until Now
Jean-Jacques Muyembe, PhD, was part of the research team that
investigated the first known outbreak of Ebola virus disease in
1976 in Congo. After first encountering the mysterious disease and
not having the tools to identify the culprit, Muyembe sent blood
samples from a sick patient to Belgium. Scientists there and in
the United States realized this was a new virus that caused
hemorrhagic fever and named it Ebola, after a river near the
village. Years went by until Muyembe was finally given credit for
discovering Ebola. Since 1976, from his post at the Congo National
Institute for Biomedical Research, Muyembe has led the global
search for a cure. In August 2019, he led the research that
discovered the most effective treatment for Ebola, mAb114. "It is
the most important achievement of my life," Muyembe told NPR. He
was recently given a patent for pioneering the first treatment for
Ebola and has received several international awards, including,
just this year, the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize.
Image from National Institutes of Health
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Dr Donald Lindberg, Pioneer in Medical Informatics, Dies at 85
Donald A. B. Lindberg, MD, FACMI, former director of the National
Library of Medicine (NLM) for over 3 decades, who was widely
regarded as "the country's senior statesman for computers and
medicine," died on August 16 at age 85 from head injuries suffered
in a fall at his home. Lindberg served as director of the NLM for
31 years. He was a trailblazer in the application of computer
technology to healthcare as the founding president of the American
Medical Informatics Association. He created PubMed and brought
free access to clinical trial information and results with
ClinicalTrials.gov, addressing a "huge need in the clinical
research community for clinical trial information," said George D.
Lundberg, MD, editor-at-large of Medscape. "It changed the world
in terms of [how a doctor can] find a clinical trial for a patient
to go on," he said.
Image from Chris Stacey, Macquarie University
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Former GP Spurs Scientific Action Over Forced Transplants
In her second career as a bioethicist, a former general
practitioner is reshaping the scientific literature of organ
transplantation. From 1983 to 2000, Wendy Rogers, BMBS, practiced
primary care medicine in the United Kingdom and Australia. In
Australia, the single mother of two grew disillusioned with the
fee-for-service system, so she decided to change course, leaving
clinical practice to take a degree that led to a doctorate in
philosophy. Now a professor of clinical ethics at Macquarie
University in Sydney, Rogers' work in drawing attention to
scientific research that used organ transplants from executed
prisoners in China has led to at least 20 journal article
retractions, and counting. This past June, a people's tribunal
convened by the International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in
China, a nongovernmental organization for which Rogers chairs the
international advisory committee, concluded that "forced organ
harvesting has been committed for years throughout China on a
significant scale."
Image from Carilion Clinic
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Virginia Cardiologist Murdered While on Vacation in Belize
Gary Paul Swank, MD, an interventional cardiologist from
Virginia, was murdered June 23 while vacationing in Belize with
his wife and young children. Swank was medical director of
Carilion Clinic's Cardiac Catheterization Lab and an associate
professor of internal medicine at the Virginia Tech Carilion
School of Medicine in Roanoke. He was 53. "We are heartbroken"
over this "tragic news," the Carilion Clinic said in a statement.
"[Dr Swank's] absence leaves a void in our team and in our
community," the statement reads. "Gary was an incredibly driven
individual, both professionally and personally, and we were
blessed to have been a part of his life," the Swank family said in
a statement. "[H]e was a physician, caregiver, teacher, mentor,
avid outdoorsman, neighbor, colleague, and friend to many. His
senseless murder has left us to mourn a purposeful life ended too
soon."
Image from School of Medicine at Creighton University
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Father of Cancer Genetics, Dr Henry Lynch, Has Died at 91
Henry T. Lynch, MD, PhD, world-renowned pioneer in the study of
hereditary cancers, who discovered the most common form of
hereditary colorectal cancer, known as Lynch syndrome, died on
June 2 at the age of 91. Lynch was a professor at Creighton
University and was founder and director of the Hereditary Cancer
Center at Creighton, which opened in 1984. In the 1960s, Lynch was
one of the first to postulate that cancer could be hereditary
after noting that some cancer patients had relatives and ancestors
who had the same type of cancer. "Nobody believed me," Lynch once
said, according to a university statement. "At that time, cancer
was all thought to be caused by environment. But I knew we had
something here."
Image from the Cleveland Clinic
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
From Fixing Cars to Saving Lives: MD Mechanic on a Mission
At age 47, Carl Allamby, MD, realized a dream long deferred.
Having spent decades repairing vehicles, he changed course,
stepping out from underneath a car's hood onto a medical
graduation stage and into the national spotlight. Now an emergency
medicine resident at Cleveland Clinic Akron General Hospital,
Allamby's journey was first detailed in The Plain Dealer,
the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio. It was then picked up by
social media and news outlets around the world. Allamby is adamant
that his story serve not only as inspiration but also to shed
light on key issues that prevent certain groups from being
represented in the field of medicine. His ambition of becoming a
doctor was nearly suffocated by coming of age during the crack
epidemic. Now raising his own children, Allamby is as dedicated to
his new patients as he is to using his story to motivate the
physicians of the future.
Image from Boots UK
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Death of Stewart Adams, Ibuprofen Inventor, at 95
Stewart Adams, the Nottingham-based chemist and pharmaceutical
scientist who jointly led the team that discovered ibuprofen in
the 1960s, died at the age of 95 on January 30. Adams worked at
Boots' Laboratories in Nottingham when he and his colleagues made
the discovery. He never made any money from the drug he helped
discover. After retiring, he was made an honorary fellow of the
Royal Pharmaceutical Society. In a statement on his passing, the
University of Nottingham School of Pharmacy said: "The legacy of
the continued effectiveness and widespread use of ibuprofen around
the world by countless patients is we feel a fitting and lasting
memorial to Dr Adams and his work." The Royal Society of Chemistry
said Stewart Adams' discovery "continues to help billions of
people around the world."
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Image from PA Images/Alamy
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Bawa-Garba Given 2-Year Conditional Registration to Return to Practice
In April, a medical tribunal in Manchester, United Kingdom,
granted Hadiza Bawa-Garba conditional return to medical practice.
She must undergo a 24-month period of conditional registration
with a review at the end of that period. The controversial case
against Bawa-Garba began in 2011 when 6-year-old Jack Adcock died
while under her care at Leicester Royal Infirmary. She was a
trainee at the time. In criminal proceedings, Bawa-Garba was
convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of gross negligence and
she received a 2-year suspended sentence. The Bawa-Garba case
focused attention on pressures faced by doctors in the healthcare
system. Supporters said that Dr 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.
Image from Dreamstime
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Doctor Accused of Disparaging Employer Wins Court Ruling
In June, a court ruled that Brian E. Michael, MD, an
endocrinologist who was fired after he allegedly made disparaging
remarks about his employer, WellSpan Medical Group in York,
Pennsylvania, is eligible for unemployment benefits. In the
ruling, Judge Michael H. Wojcik of the Commonwealth Court of
Pennsylvania ruled that the employer failed to provide "competent,
first-hand evidence" of the alleged disparaging remarks against
WellSpan. Wojcik wrote that "[a]n employer bears the burden of
proving willful misconduct," and in this case did not meet the
burden. "This evidence, without more, is insufficient to establish
that [Michael] conducted himself unprofessionally when speaking
with a patient," he wrote.
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Image from Dreamstime
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Former Ohio State Team Doctor Sexually Abused at Least 177, Report Shows
Richard Strauss, MD, sexually abused at least 177 former students
at the Ohio State University in Columbus when he was employed as a
team physician between 1978 and 1998, the university said in a
report released in May. Strauss died in 2005 by suicide at age 67.
An investigation found that university personnel knew of
complaints about Strauss' conduct as early as 1979 but did not
take appropriate action. In 1996, the university removed Strauss
from his role as physician in the Department of Athletics and
Student Health Services and reported his actions to the State
Medical Board of Ohio that year. But the university did not report
his actions to law enforcement, and he was allowed to retire in
1998 with emeritus status. In a letter to students, faculty, and
staff, University President Michael V. Drake, MD, said the
findings in the report are "shocking and painful to comprehend.
Our institution's fundamental failure at the time to prevent this
abuse was unacceptable — as were the inadequate efforts to
thoroughly investigate complaints raised by students and staff
members."
Image from Dreamstime
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Cardiologist Settles Suit for $5.8M for Alleged Unneeded Stents
In May, cardiologist Joseph P. Galichia, MD, of Wichita, Kansas,
agreed to pay $5.8 million to resolve allegations that he and his
Galichia Medical Group (GMED) improperly billed federal health
programs for medically unnecessary cardiac stent procedures, the
Department of Justice (DOJ) said. Galachia also agreed to a 3-year
period of exclusion from participation in any federal health
program. The DOJ contended that Galichia and GMED knowingly
submitted false claims for the allegedly unnecessary procedures
from 2008 through 2014. The allegedly false billings were
submitted to Medicare, the Defense Health Agency, and the Federal
Employees Health Benefit Program. The settlement resolved
allegations in a qui tam (whistleblower) lawsuit filed by Aly
Gadalla, MD, in the United States District Court for the District
of Kansas. Gadalla, an internist who formerly worked for GMED,
will receive approximately $1.16 million from the settlement.
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Kansas Doctor Sentenced to Life in Prison for Selling Opioid Prescriptions
A Kansas doctor was sentenced to life in prison in March after
being convicted of illegally selling opioids to patients without a
legitimate medical reason. Judge J. Thomas Marten said the doctor,
Steven R. Henson, clearly "abused his position of trust as a
licensed physician," according to the Wichita Eagle. One
of Henson's patients died in 2015 after overdosing on a mix of
drugs Henson had prescribed. Henson was found guilty of conspiracy
to distribute prescription drugs outside the course of medical
practice; unlawfully distributing oxycodone; unlawfully
distributing oxycodone, methadone, and alprazolam; unlawfully
distributing methadone and alprazolam, the use of which resulted
in the death of a victim; presenting false patient records to
investigators; obstruction of justice; and money laundering, the
newspaper reported.
Images from Dreamstime
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Florida Surgeon Resigns Over Instagram Pics of Transgender Patients' Genitals
In March, a Florida surgeon who specializes in transgender
healthcare resigned from his position following outrage over
pictures he posted on Instagram that showed surgical procedures
and patients' genitals alongside captions and hashtags that mocked
transgender people and Asians, the New York Times
reported. The surgeon, Dr Christopher Salgado, 50, worked at the
LGBTQ Center for Wellness, Gender and Sexual Health at the
University of Miami Health System. In addition to posting smiling
photos of himself and friends and colleagues, Salgado posted
images and text on his Instagram account, @sexsurgeon, that many
people found disturbing. He later deleted the account.
Image from Toronto Star/Getty Images
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Oncologist Loses Her License After Affair With Patient
A Canadian oncologist was stripped of her license after not
contesting allegations that she had had a sexual relationship with
a patient while she was treating him for cancer. Theepa
Sundaralingam, MD, a community oncologist at the Rouge Valley
Health System in Toronto, Canada, was the subject of a
disciplinary hearing held by the College of Physicians and
Surgeons of Ontario on January 23. The panel ruled that
Sundaralingam had "engaged in sexual abuse and disgraceful,
dishonorable and unprofessional conduct" in respect to a patient.
The 37-year-old oncologist pleaded no contest, which means that
while not admitting guilt she still consented to the panel
accepting the allegations as fact. Sundaralingam was ordered to
put up as security $16,000 to cover any expenses for therapy that
the patient might need and to pay $6000 to cover the cost of the
proceedings. "Your actions are abhorrent and reprehensible," one
of the panel members told her.
Image from Dreamstime
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Australian Endocrinologist Banned From Performing Breast Exams
In July, an Australian endocrinologist was banned from performing
breast examinations in Australia and was made to put notices up
everywhere he sees patients after complaints of unexplained exams
over 12 years led to action from the Medical Board of Australia
(MBA). Murray Gerstman, MD, an endocrinologist in the Kew area of
Victoria and an adjunct lecturer at Monash University, Melbourne,
Australia, has been registered as a medical practitioner since
December 1975. However, a series of notifications to the MBA
starting in 2006 but relating to cases as far back as 1995
culminated in a complaint by a patient's mother in October 2018
that he had performed a breast examination on her daughter without
explanation. A government tribunal found that, although there was
no suggestion that Gerstman was being predatory or had performed
the examinations for his sexual gratification, it was not clear
whether this latest examination could be clinically justified.
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Arbitration Award vs Rogue Orthopedist Totals $140 Million
In February, a New York arbitrator awarded $140 million to
resolve 255 medical malpractice lawsuits against former orthopedic
surgeon Spyros Panos, who lost his medical license, served more
than 4 years in prison for fraud, and is now facing new criminal
charges. The arbitration agreement also covers the "vicarious
liability" of Mid Hudson Medical Group, Panos's former practice in
Poughkeepsie, New York, Nancy McGee, an attorney who represents
149 of the plaintiffs, told Medscape Medical News. The
suits against Panos alleged that he routinely performed 15 to 20
surgeries a day and saw up to 60 or sometimes even 90 patients a
day in his office over a 10-year period. Some of the procedures
were unnecessary, and some were faked or botched, according to the
lawsuits. Some patients did not receive the care they needed, the
suits charged.
Image from Dreamstime
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Texas Physician Convicted for $16M Medicare Scheme
In October, a federal court jury in Texas found Yolanda Hamilton,
MD, guilty of participating in a $16 million Medicare fraud scheme
in which she signed false plans of care and other medical
documents related to purported home health services. Following a
6-day trial, Hamilton, 56, the owner and operator of HMS Health
and Wellness Center in Houston, was convicted of conspiracy to
commit healthcare fraud, conspiracy to solicit and receive
healthcare kickbacks, and false statements related to healthcare
matters. Between 2012 and 2016, according to the indictment,
Hamilton saw Medicare patients referred to her by at least four
home health agencies and certified or recertified home health
services for them. She signed plans of care that made it appear as
if these patients needed home health services even if those
services were not medically necessary, not provided, or both. She
also ordered medically unnecessary tests for some patients.
Image from Dreamstime
Physicians of the Year 2019: Best and Worst
Megan Brooks; Fredy Perojo; Deborah Flapan | December 16, 2019 | Contributor Information
Dozens Fired After Actor's Health Info Viewed, Reports Claim
In March, "at least 50" employees at Northwestern Memorial
Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, were reportedly fired, accused of
violating HIPAA by accessing the electronic health record of
former Empire actor Jussie Smollett, NBC Chicago
reported. The Chicago Sun-Times quoted an unnamed
Northwestern hospital administrator as saying she was fired after
an employee in another department came to her desk and asked if
Smollett had been admitted under an alias. The newspaper quoted
the fired employee as saying she "didn't ask why the information
was needed because she believed it to be a professional request."
An unnamed nurse who was fired told CBS Chicago that she never
accessed Smollett's chart but simply scrolled past it when looking
for another patient's name. A surgical nurse who was fired told
NBC Chicago, "Simply put, it was just morbid curiosity. I went
into the charting system and started to search his name." She said
she didn't open Smollett's chart but knew that searching his name
was wrong.
Physicians exemplified the best and worst of their calling in 2018. At their best, they won awards and blew the whistle on an illegal cancer drug scheme. At worst, they abused patients and provided unnecessary treatment for their own gain.Medscape News Slideshows, December 2018
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