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| Julie Kovach, M.D. |
Julie Kovach, a Michigan cardiologist, has just won a $4 million False Claims Act lawsuit against Jackson Cardiology Associates, its owner, cardiologist Jashu Patel, and against Allegiance Health Hospital, all located in Jackson, Michigan. (USDOJ Press Release)
Dr. Kovach alleged that Dr. Patel and Jackson Cardiology cardiologists performed medically inappropriate cardiac procedures, including invasive catheterizations at Allegiance Health. Specifically, she alleged (and had evidence) that Dr. Patel ordered catheterizations for patients based on findings from nuclear stress tests that he improperly read as positive. Three-quarters of these patients had no significant heart blockages. Dr. Kovach also alleged that Patel and Jackson Cardiology performed a variety of other office-based medically unnecessary tests.
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan stated: “This case is especially important because the defendants unnecessarily subjected patients to invasive and potentially harmful procedures. We urge other health care professionals with knowledge of medically harmful procedures to come forward, either by calling our office and asking to speak to the criminal or civil health care fraud coordinators, or through the qui tam whistleblower mechanism."
Soon enough, as I have predicted, we will see a False Claims Act action in which clinician administered unwanted or medically unnecessary life-sustaining treatment.
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