MEDIA
Psychiatrist paid patient $42,200 to keep secret about affair
New Zealand Herald Psychiatrist denies affair with patient By Abby Gillies Dec 15, 2012 A married psychiatrist accused of a sexual relationship spanning countries and almost a year has been found in breach of professional and legal standards. When the affair came to light, the doctor allegedly paid his 24-year-old patient $42,200 to try to keep it secret from authorities. In a recently released report, the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) found the psychiatrist, referred to only as Dr C, entered an ongoing intimate relationship with the patient, Ms A, a woman who suffered from fear of separation, difficulty connecting [...]
Shocking Numbers – CA Psych’s Pay
California State Psychiatrist Paid Twice as much as the President News10.net Calif. state psychiatrists' see salary increase with bidding war By Jonathan Mumm Dec 13, 2012 Gov. Jerry Brown may be the state's top official, but his salary as governor is over four times less than what one particular state psychiatrist made last year. While the median salary for state psychiatrists across the country was $195,000, here in California 93 made more than $300,000 and another 15 made over $400,000. However, one psychiatrist, Dr. Mohammad Safi, made over $822,000. Safi is currently on administrative leave, his case under investigation. Department [...]
Psychiatrists: “Dark Day for Psychiatry”
The Guardian Anger as French psychiatrist found guilty of manslaughter because patient killed By Angelique Chrisafis 19 December 2012 French psychiatrists' unions have reacted angrily after a doctor was found guilty of manslaughter because her patient hacked an elderly man to death. In the first case of its kind in France, Daniele Canarelli, 58, a psychiatrist based at the Edouard-Toulouse hospital in Marseille, was sentenced to one year's suspended prison sentence as judges said she had committed the "grave error" of failing to recognise the public danger posed by Joel Gaillard, her patient of four years. French psychiatrist Daniele [...]
Psychiatrist Arrested for Declaring Woman Kookie
Times of India Psychiatrist held for certifying woman mentally ill Nov 24, 2012 A psychiatrist, who allegedly issued a false certificate declaring a healthy woman as mentally challenged, was arrested by Vanasthalipuram police on Friday. Cyberabad police said, A Shekhar Reddy, a private practitioner, was approached by advocate B Sriramulu for a certificate declaring his wife B Manjula mentally unsound. "On the request of Sriramulu, Shekhar issued a false certificate and a few prescriptions which declared that Nirmala was mentally unsound. Actually she is mentally and physically sound. During investigation, it was found that Sriramulu hatched this plan to [...]
Psych Busted by Spy Camera
Calgary Herald Key witness to testify as Dr. Levin sex trial resumes Thursday By Daryl Slade November 14, 2012 The sex assault trial of former prominent forensic psychiatrist Dr. Aubrey Levin, which has been plagued by numerous delays over the past six weeks, is expected to be back on track on Thursday. The jury, which has heard just a few days of evidence since the trial before Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Donna Shelley began in early October, should hear first from the original complainant, R.B., when it returns. When R.B. testified briefly a month ago, the two videos he [...]
Psychs Lament Passing of TeenScreen
Psychiatrist David ShafferTeenScreen Creator Globe Gazette Officials lament program loss to screen for teen depression December 1, 2012 By Deb Nicklay MASON CITY — Local educators and mental health professionals say they are concerned that Teen Screen, a program that helped identify more than 400 North Iowa students grappling with issues of depression and suicide, will soon end. Columbia University, which developed the screening tool, will no longer allow use of the program after Dec. 14. It has been used in North Iowa since 2006, and conducted under the auspices of United Way of North Central Iowa. On Nov. [...]
Psychiatrist talks real estate during session
Mercury News Marin County psychiatrist disciplined over alleged real-estate talks with patient By Gary Klien, Marin Independent Journal December 3, 2012 MARIN COUNTY -- A Kentfield psychiatrist was reprimanded by state regulators on allegations he used a patient's therapy sessions to talk about the real estate business, the state medical board said. Dr. Stephen Merritt Raffle was "grossly negligent" and committed "multiple boundary violations" by discussing his business experience and referring the patient to real estate lawyers and lenders, according to a filing by Linda Whitney, executive director of the board. The board also alleged that Raffle failed to create [...]
Psych Fined $325,000 – Gives Up Practice
Nashville Public Radio: Psychiatrist Accused of TennCare Fraud to Pay Fine, Give Up Practice by Bradley George Monday, December 03rd, 2012 A Madison psychiatrist will give up his practice and pay a six-figure fine, after allegations that he over-billed TennCare by nearly a million dollars. The state Attorney General says AKM Fakhruddin saw about 150 TennCare patients. Most of the appointments were to make an adjustment to medication, lasting just a few minutes. Prosecutors say Fakhruddin would bill the state for full psychotherapy sessions. These kind of appointments usually last about an hour, but Fakhruddin sometimes claimed to see as [...]
Proof – Psychiatrists are an Unethical Bunch
National Post Psychiatrists four times as likely as other Canadian doctors to be disciplined for sexual misconduct: study Tom Blackwell Dec 6, 2012 Psychiatrists are twice as likely as other Canadian doctors to face professional discipline generally and almost four times as apt to be sanctioned for sexual misconduct, concludes a new study that underscores long-held concerns about the speciality. Experts blame the problem in part on psychiatrists’ unusually close and long relationships with their patients, compared to surgeons and some other specialists who often have relatively brief contact with the people they treat. Past research has suggested many of [...]
Will he get the slammer?
Luckily, one patient got one of the sexual assaults on his spy cam. Calgary Herald Complainant in Levin trial stands by his allegations of sexual assault By Daryl Slade December 10, 2012 The original sex assault complainant against former forensic psychiatrist Dr. Aubrey Levin became agitated and frustrated under an intense cross-examination on Monday. But he never wavered from his allegations that he was molested on the majority of at least 30 occasions between 2002 and 2010 while on court-ordered visits to the psychiatrist. On one occasion, when pressed about the alleged incidents in March 2010, R.B. told lawyer Chris [...]