A podiatrist from Illinois pleaded guilty Friday to bilking Medicare out of thousands of dollars over the past decade by writing bills for medical procedures not performed. The podiatrist's attorney Ron Hamm contends the amount is less than $20,000, however the government is claiming the amount is closer to $270,000.
A disciplinary action is violation of the podiatrist's ethical code of conduct. The professional ethical code governs professional conduct for those within the organization in order to provide guidelines and/or rules by which the podiatrist is expected to practice.
The American Podiatric Medical Association (A.P.M.A.) sets forth a Code of Ethics (2005) that governs areas such as physician patient relationship, billing, and standards of practice. Although not malpractice per se, many times unethical conduct on part of a podiatrist may reveal elements of an underlying malpractice action. In addition, some disciplinary actions against a podiatrist may lead to and support a criminal case against the doctor, such as found in the following case.
Clearly, not only is an intimate relationship with a patient violative of the Code, but the exchange of intercourse for narcotics and taping the encounters, would constitute violations of the code as well. For instance, yesterday,
Continue Reading...A podiatrist from Olympia Fields sexually assaulted a 75-year-old woman during a medical exam then told her he'd done her "a favor," a judge heard in court this week. Dr. Anthony Overton, 63, claims he was following normal procedures for a foot doctor when he touched the woman's breasts and inserted his finger into her vagina and rectum. But as Overton's bench trial began before Judge Michael Toomin at the Cook County Criminal Court on Tuesday morning, Assistant State's Attorney Beth Pfeiffer said, "Those transgressions were a crime."
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