Doctor Settles DME Claims

Dr. Vishal Patel has agreed to pay more than $1 million to resolve allegations that he violated the False Claims Act by ordering medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME) for patients covered by Medicare and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). He referred patients for more than 1,750 orthotic devices, including wrist, shoulder, knee, ankle, and back braces. The United States alleges that Patel had no medical relationship with these patients and that the referrals were based on brief reviews of the patients’ medical charts, which failed to establish any legitimate medical justification for the devices. Patient files were provided to Patel by RediDoc LLC, a purported telemedicine company. Read a story from Delaware Public Media and a Department of Justice press release.

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