MEDIA
Victim of psychiatrist’s testicle-zap therapy says pain excruciating
Lake Alice Mental Health Hospital www.nzherald.co.nz By Martin Johnston May 24, 2012 Zapping a teenage boy on the testicles with an electric shock machine because he was considered naughty was an act far outside normal practice, a medical academic told police. "In summary, Dr [Selwyn] Leeks' treatments appeared to depart significantly from the standards of the day," wrote Dr Garry Walter, professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Sydney. "This was in the areas of his direct clinical care - including his method of use of electrical treatments, and his dubious reasons for some of [...]
Sex with Patient
Telegraph Herald Iowa psychiatrist Sergio Paradiso gives up medical license over sex with patient - Ex-university psychiatrist gives up medical license By Associated Press November 21, 2012 State board accepts a settlement with Paradiso, who was accused of having sex with a patient. A former psychiatrist at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics has agreed to surrender his medical license to settle a complaint that he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a female patient, state regulators said Tuesday. The Iowa Board of Medicine released its settlement agreement with Sergio Paradiso, 49, who was accused of engaging in sexual misconduct [...]
Weston psychiatrist Mark Willner gets 10 years in federal prison
Sun Sentinel Weston doctor imprisoned for healthcare fraud in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale By Paula McMahon October 1, 2012 A Weston psychiatrist was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $51.9 million in restitution Monday for his role in what prosecutors called "one of the largest and most brazen health care fraud conspiracies in recent memory." Dr. Mark Willner, who practiced in Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit health care fraud earlier this year. He has been locked up at the Federal Detention Center in Miami since the [...]
NY Psychiatrist comes up from behind employees and…
The Daily Gazette Schenectady/Albany Psychiatrist accused of touching staffers June 12, 2012 By Justin Mason Police arrested a psychiatrist on misdemeanor sexual abuse charges for allegedly rubbing up against two employees at his Colonie office on separate occasions in May. Kevin W. George, 52, of East Schodack was charged with two counts of third-degree sexual abuse and two counts of forcible touching. He was arraigned in Colonie Town Court and released on his own recognizance Friday. Lt. Robert Winn said both of the women were clerical employees at Psychopharmacology Consultants Of Albany. He said the women both reported that George [...]
Michael Bengala, Florida Psychiatrist, Charged by Feds in Drug Case
Drug Enforcement Administration June 27, 2012 Contact: Mia Ro, PIO Miami Division Federal Investigation Takes Down New Breed of Pill Mills in Florida --Seven Doctors, Seven Clinic Owners, Including Firemen, Charged in Operation Pill Street Blues-- Psychiatrist Michael Bengala VERO BEACH, FL – Seven doctors and seven clinic owners, which included two firemen were charged on state racketeering violations spanning across Florida. This morning’s operation dubbed “Operation Pill Street Blues” was announced by Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Miami Field Division; Pam Bondi, Attorney General of Florida, Deryl Loar, Sheriff, Indian River [...]
40% Of High-Prescribing Docs Get Pharma Perks
Psychiatrist Velandy Manohar Connecticut Health I-Team by Lisa Chedekel Jul 28, 2012 In 2010 and 2011, Dr. Irene Abramovich of West Hartford was the state’s top prescriber of Invega, an antipsychotic medication marketed by Janssen Pharmaceuticals. She also was in the top five prescribers of Zyprexa, an antipsychotic marketed by Eli Lilly, in 2008 and 2009. Drug company reports show Janssen paid Abramovich $11,900 in speaking fees and travel expenses in 2010. Eli Lilly paid her $26,000 as a speaker in 2009, and more than $47,000 for speaking and travel in 2010. Similarly, in 2010 and 2011, Dr. [...]
Fat Cat Miami Chief Psych
Feeds at Taxpayer Trough
Feeds at Taxpayer Trough
Charles NemeroffUniversity of Miami medical school psychiatry chair Pharmalot NIH Insists Latest Nemeroff Grant Is Kosher By Ed Silverman August 13th, 2012 Three months ago, US Senator Chuck Grassley demanded that the National Institutes of Health justify a recent decision to award a multi-million-dollar research grant to Charles Nemeroff, the University of Miami medical school psychiatry chair, who has been at the center of a far-reaching probe into conflicts of interest involving academic researchers and the pharmaceutical industry. The grant is for research into post-traumatic stress disorder. As we reported previously, the grant was made three years after the [...]
Boy Grows Breasts – Settles Lawsuit with Psych Drug Maker on First Day of Trial
Bloomberg J&J Settles Risperdal Lawsuit on Opening Day of Trial By Jef Feeley and Margaret Cronin Fisk Sep 10, 2012 Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) settled a lawsuit on the first day of a trial over claims its antipsychotic drug Risperdal caused a male plaintiff to grow breast tissue, one of his lawyers told a state judge in Philadelphia. The lawsuit by Aron Banks, 21, was the first to go to trial on claims that Risperdal caused boys to grow breasts. Another trial on the same claim is set to begin Sept. 20 in Philadelphia. The terms of the settlement are [...]
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD TERMINATES ALL FLORIDA PSYCHIATRISTS
PSYCHSEARCH.NET BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD TERMINATES ALL FLORIDA PSYCHIATRISTS - One Year Later By Ken Kramer August 15, 2012 Psychiatrists are among the lowest-paid of all physicians because, unlike other doctors, they do not bill by the procedure and are reimbursed by time, this according to Bill Gallagher, of Gainesville, Florida who promotes himself as a "human rights advocate". So, it was especially hard for Florida psychiatrists when in August of last year, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida (BCBS) terminated the contracts of all psychiatrists, psychologists and mental health professionals in the State of Florida. BCBS simply cancelled the [...]
Doctors’ prescriptions raise suspicions of Medicaid fraud
Star Tribune By JEREMY OLSON February 29, 2012 Minnesota officials are reporting a handful of doctors to the state medical board for potential disciplinary action because of the amount of addictive painkillers and potent psychotropic drugs they have prescribed. In a Feb. 13 letter to U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the Department of Human Services said it has reported two doctors for excessive prescriptions and was "in the process of reporting others." The letter was an update to Grassley, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who has been investigating whether doctors are bilking the Medicaid system by writing too [...]