Whistleblowers stand to receive a portion of the proceeds from a settlement or financial recovery, which can be hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.
Here is a look at five healthcare-related cases from the past year:
1. A sonographer formerly employed at Bellamah Vein Center in Montana accused the practice owner of using "improper techniques" to conduct and analyze ultrasounds. David Bellamah, MD, agreed to pay $3.7 million to resolve the allegations and Ms. Lezanne received $636,875, or 17 percent of the settlement, in mid-December.
2. Myron Jones, MD, a physician formerly employed at Atlanta-based Milton Hall Surgical Associates, alleged the group's founder, owner, medical director and former CEO Jeffrey Gallups, MD, accepted kickbacks from Entellus, a device company, and medical testing lab NextHealth. Dr. Gallups and the practice paid $3 million to resolve the claims and Dr. Jones received $614,000 in early December.
3. Leslie Jennings, MD, a physician-owner of Flower Mound (Texas) Hospital, filed a lawsuit against the hospital, claiming it violated Stark Law by repurchasing shares from physicians and unfairly reselling them to younger physicians based on volume or value of their procedures. The hospital agreed to pay $18.2 million to resolve the claims and Dr. Jennings received $3 million in early December.
4. Scott Thompson, a former Deerfield, Ill.-based Surgical Care Affiliates employee, filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the company and its...
By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet As part of an intensified campaign against the spread of falsehoods that continue to undermine the integrity of the government and pose a threat to national security, PCO...