No one would deny that economic pressures on physicians have increased substantially in recent years, leading physicians to experiment with a variety of new ventures and procedures to recapture lost income. Two recent stories illustrate the tragedy for both physicians and their patients when the search for increased revenue goes way to far. Both stories involve physician prescription and manipulation of drugs resulting in substantial penalties to the physicians who broke the cardinal rule of the Hippocratic Oath, "First do no harm."
In Oregon, Dr. Jerome Lentini was indicted on 53 counts of fraud, misbranding drugs, and aiding and abetting. He was accursed of running a scheme to buy cheap and illegal drugs, and advertise them as Botox at his "Younger You" clinics. He plead guilty last week to injecting more than 800 patients with unapproved forms of botulism toxin and agreed to an 18 month prison sentence. He apparently obtained the toxin from bio research institute in China and from an Arizona company. Dr. Lenitini surrendered his license to practice medicine.
In Missouri, Dr. James Hueser, an oncologist, also surrendered his license to practice medicine and paid a One Million Dollar fine resulting from accusations of Medicare Fraud. Dr. Hueser was allegedly over billing Medicare for the amount of chemotherapy drugs that he was supplying to his patients, while diluting the amount of the drugs he was providing to his patients. An investigation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services commenced after nurses reported that opened vials of chemotherapy drugs were stored for later use, contrary to manufacturer directions and prescribing guidelines. There has been a class action filed against Dr. Hueser and a number of his former associates by former patients and their families.
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