Had an ophthalmologist not gotten greedy, his medical abuses may not have come to light.
Now, in a case that potentially affects people from New Jersey down to Florida, a nationally renowned ophthalmologist is testifying against another doctor in her field, calling his practices abusive, horrifying and unconscionable.
The evidence of the doctor’s medical abuses were relevant to his current trial on for Medicare fraud down in Florida. They’ll probably be reiterated when he goes on trial for public corruption in New Jersey next.
The ophthalmologist serving as the expert witness in the trial is the President of the Retina Society and ophthalmologist-in-chief at Philadelphia’s Wills Eye Hospital. She characterized her fellow professional’s work as “disgraceful” and said that he shamed her entire profession.
Some of his abuses include charging Medicare for top-notch treatment, all the while fabricating records, using incorrect diagnoses and engaging in obsolete and dangerous methods of care. Among his worst offenses:
— He devised treatment plans for macular degeneration for multiple patients with no sign of the disease.
— He added notes to one patient’s chart in order to justify his diagnosis.
— He used obsolete laser treatments for wet macular degeneration care, a process that’s both dangerous and harmful, leaving scars in patients’ eyes.
— He used fluorescein angiograms on patients who had lost vision, a practice that’s largely abandoned and puts the patient at high risk of more vision loss for no practical benefit.
— He billed Medicare for scans that required dye to be injected into the patient’s bloodstream. However, if the doctor couldn’t find a vein, he’d simply have the patient swallow the dye — which did nothing.
The doctor is already facing lawsuits from victims who developed eye infections after he injected multiple patients with drugs from vials meant for single-patient use only — managing to overbill Medicare by nearly $9 million in the process.
It’s quite likely that more lawsuits will surface now that patients can be made aware of the medical malpractice they endured — many of the patients may not even have realized that they were injured via malpractice but attribute their decaying vision to old age instead.
If you find out that your doctor has lied to you about a diagnosis, used you to milk Medicare or Medicaid of funds or you suspect your treatment is substandard, a medical malpractice attorney can help.
Source: www.breitbrt.com, “Top Ophthalmologist: Medical Practices Of Dr. Salomon Megen Were ‘Abusive…Unconscionable…Horrifying”,” Michael Patrick Leahy, April 03, 2017