MedPage Today's weekly legal roundup opens with the death of a physician to the British royal family, who was found dead at home; her husband has been charged with murder. The case is one of several criminal matters involving doctors reported this week.
In a civil case, Providence and MultiCare Health System agreed to pay more than $155 million to settle two class-action lawsuits. The suits alleged that one of its neurosurgeons performed unnecessary spine surgeries to increase productivity. Separately, federal prosecutors accused a Texas doctor of billing Medicare for surgical neurostimulator implants when he only delivered electro-acupuncture, and another Texas physician allegedly submitted about $30 million in fraudulent claims for COVID tests and other services.
The roundup also covers the conviction of Jonathan Decker, MD, who was found guilty of prescribing more than 2 million stimulant pills through the Done ADHD telehealth platform. He is the 11th defendant convicted in the $100 million scheme. Other items include a nursing home settlement over a fake nurse, a $1.44 million settlement by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation over diagnosis codes, and a new DOJ directive targeting drugmakers.