Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Case of Illinois Doctor Shows Importance of Evaluating Outpatient Practice

Illinois physician Sukhdarshan S. Bedi was recently sentenced to eight months of prison and eight months of home confinement for health care fraud, illegally dispensing a controlled substance, and other charges. Bedi's clinics, Marion Family Health Care, Harrisburg Family Healthcare, and Galatia Medical Center Corp. were sentenced to one year of probation for health care fraud and illegally dispensing controlled substances.

Bedi and his clinics were involved in a scheme to prescribe controlled substances without a legitimate medical use, and to submit Medicare claims for these illegal prescriptions. Bedi allowed nurse practitioners and physician assistants to write these prescriptions using pre-signed forms, even though writing prescriptions for the controlled substances was outside their scope of practice.

This case is a reminder of the importance of considering both inpatient and outpatient practices of physicians for membership, even if they are not granted privileges.


Source: BNA

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