Posted on 06/22/2011 4:21:42 PM PDT by Morgana
COAL GROVE, OH (WSAZ) -- Mass radiation poisoning is the overwhelming concern after a state and federal raid today on a local doctor and imaging center. Were talking about suspected medical insurance fraud on a grand scale - linked to maybe thousands of unneeded cat scans.
The raid Wednesday morning involved numerous agencies, everybody from the local sheriff - to the department of defense, because patients connected to the military are involved. Click here to find out more!
Were told the raid on a Coal Grove, Ohio medical center involves multi-millions in suspected Medicaid and Medicare fraud. And agents say much of the illegal billing came from a family of unethical doctors who blatantly disregarded human health.
Betty York told us; I got the injections and I got the scans. Betty is one of many patients across the Tri-State who see Dr. Peter Tsai at the Watkins-Tsai medical center. We were asked not to show the more than 40 state and federal undercover agents collecting boxes and boxes of medical records.
Investigators say Dr. Peter Tsai examined his patients - then sent them across the hall to his parents cat scan center. And agents say all three fraudulently billed the government for millions. Sheriff Jeff Lawless explained; All patients of his had to have cat scans - and they were either unneeded or unbilled procedures.
Federal agents say since 2008 this small town medical center led the entire nation in billing for cat scans, more than the whole state of Florida. And some patients were given an unheard of more than 100 cat scans over a two year period Sheriff Lawless: Some children had multiple scans; we're scared that patients were abused. Betty York adds; I had cat scans, it's scary, you don't know what's going to happen to you.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsaz.com ...
Of course the TSA and DHS can irradiate you and their own workers in airports and train stations and no one says a thing...
update
This assumes they were actually doing the scans...
I think some "patients" may claim the tests were done to avoid self incrimination.
Computed Tomography (CT)-Abdomen and Pelvis
15 mSv
Computed Tomography (CT)-Abdomen and Pelvis,
repeated with and without contrast material
30 mSv
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=graphic-science-radiation-exposure
Airport scanner (backscatter method):
0.0001 mSv
Not much risk that airport screening will cause an equivalent harm...
If what this looks like at first glance is true, this guy should go to prison. I read in one report that he ordered 100 CT scans - On One Patient! That’s disgusting.
He’s also a family practitioner, one of the primary care provider specialties that the government has been pushing as ‘gatekeepers’ to prevent unnecessary specialty care.
I encourage everyone to be very involved in their own medical care, to research their own conditions and the type of treatment they are receiving, and Never Ever assume that all doctors are equally effective. They most definitely are not, and literally whether or not you live or die can be dependent upon who your doctor is.
Interesting.
Thank you.
i can’t find it now on FR, but i saw an article here about a week ago, talking about how many hospitals are doing a very high number of double scans.
...but oddly, it said this rate was almost zero in teaching hospitals.
i did find these others, including back to 2007.
i suspect that nationwide, this is an incredibly huge amount of wast and fraud, with some scans being billed for $7,000 each...
http://managinghealthcarecosts.blogspot.com/2011/06/unnecessary-double-chest-ct-scans.html
http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2007/11/26/radiation_risk/
Radiation risk
Doctors concerned about the exploding use of CT scanners
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2407632/posts
15,000 Will Die From CT Scans Done In 1 Year
Durations are know doubt shorter in the airport than in the exam room hence why the lower radiation dose. (assuming they are correct)
Agents who have to be around the machines all the time, is an entirely differnt matter.
finallyh found it. it seems to be a widespread problem:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2736673/posts
Medicare Claims Show Overuse for CT Scanning
NyTimes.com ^ | June 17, 2011 | WALT BOGDANICH, JO CRAVEN McGINTY
Posted on Saturday, June 18, 2011 5:11:42 PM by ransomnote
Long after questions were first raised about the overuse of powerful CT scans, hundreds of hospitals across the country needlessly exposed patients to radiation by scanning their chests twice on the same day, according to federal records and interviews with researchers.
Performing two scans in succession is rarely necessary, radiologists say, yet some hospitals were doing that more than 80 percent of the time for their Medicare chest patients, according to Medicare outpatient claims from 2008, the most recent year available. The rate is typically less than 1 percent, or in some cases zero, at major university teaching hospitals. “
How many more doctors like this are out there?
President Palin will put an end to this kind of rampant fraud.
What? I need another Cat Scan, Doc?????..............
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.