(Image source from: Indian-American doctor to pay 400K dollars to resolve fraud case)

An Indian-American doctor has been asked to pay $400,000 for committing fraud in billing an insurance programme of the government. According to reports, Florida-based Ravi Sharma will pay the amount to settle allegations upon himself and his clinic for violating federal laws by false claims made over vein injections and physician office visits that were not performed by qualified personnel.

Sharma, who had been alleged under the False Claims Act, agreed to pay the penalty amount inorder to settle the case, announced the justice department on Monday. Stuart Delery, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Civil Division, stated that invasive procedures like vein injections should not be performed by unqualified personnel. The US would not tolerate such acts of negligence that places patients' at health risk, he added.

During the years 2009 and 2010, Sharma operated clinics (owned by himself), which also included a weight loss centre, in the Tampa area. The doctor instructed his office manager through texts to give varicose vein injections to patients when he was not present in office.

According to government allegations, Sharma performed unnecessary procedures like vein injections and ultrasound imaging related to vein injections. Even at his weight loss facility, Sharma billed Medicare for physician office visits when in reality patients had been treated by unqualified personnel. Patti Lovell, Sharma's former office manager, filed a lawsuit against the doctor under False Claims Act's whistleblower provisions. The act allows private parties to sue someone on government's behalf for submitting false claims and they get rewarded with a share of the recovery amount. Lovell will be paid $72,000 under the act.

(Picture Source: bergermontague.com)

(AW: Pratima Tigga)