Suit Claims 23 Docs Provided Diluted Drugs (at full price)

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?flok=ne-health-12-l4&flok=FF-APO-1500&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20060320%2F0615331579.htm&sc=1500&floc=NW_1-T


A former oncologist who recently surrendered his license and paid a $1 million fine stemming from accusations of Medicare fraud is now the focus of a class-action lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed last week in Boone County Circuit Court, accuses James Hueser and 22 physicians of shortchanging patients by administering diluted or tainted chemotherapy drugs and charging full price.

The legal action was filed on behalf of Ron Merchant. Hueser treated Merchant's wife, Artie Jean Merchant, who died in 2003 of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, said Tony DeWitt, an attorney with the Jefferson City law firm handling the case.

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The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages for overbillings and punitive damages to ``deter future wrongful conduct'' by the defendants. The lawsuit also alleges fraud, breach of contract and civil conspiracy.

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The list of defendants includes an affiliated company, Medical Network Technologies LLC, and former associates of Hueser in the Boone Clinic medical partnership.

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Hueser, who was based at Boone Clinic, also practiced at Bothwell Regional Health Center in Sedalia and had ``traveling oncology units'' in Hermann, Hannibal and Kirksville.
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used to be you could trust most doctors and the health system

but then, this used to be america

IANAL, but I can think of about half a dozen criminal charges that should be brought here.

when a drug is $4 a pop then there is no motive to dilute it because there is no profit to be commensurate to risk

when a drug is $10K a pop, then there is every motive to dilute because thousands of dollars can be saved per application

i'm guessing this happens every single day and is almost never discovered