Third Doctor Arrested for U.S. Capitol Riot; Pediatrician Sues for ‘Anti-Male’ Bias

Yet another doctor has been arrested for participating in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building. California anesthesiologist Austin Brendlen Harris, MD, was caught on surveillance cameras inside the Capitol comparing its police officers to Nazis. This brings the total number of physicians arrested for participating in the Capitol riots to three, including Simone Gold, MD, JD, and Jacquelyn Starer, MD. (The Daily Beast)

Former police officer-turned-visiting nurse Robert Allore, RN, has been indicted on charges of sexually assaulting an 88-year-old woman in his care. (WMUR9)

Pediatric anesthesiologist James Mooney, MD, is suing his employer, Emory University, over what he claims is “anti-male bias” while investigating sexual harassment allegations made against him. According to his attorney, Mooney was demoted and treated unfairly during a long investigation in which he was eventually cleared of the charges. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

In Utah, 94 women claimed a doctor sexually assaulted them over his 47-year career. However, a judge threw out the case, saying it must be governed by medical malpractice rules — rather than those that apply to sexual assault cases — because the alleged offender is a doctor. Under medical malpractice rules, a judge is required to limit how much money victims can receive. The group of women is appealing to the Utah Supreme Court, which has agreed to hear their case. (ProPublica)

Maryland urgent care doctor Ishtiaq Ahmed Malek, MD, was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting patients during exams at his clinic. Police say two women who visited his urgent care center on different dates both alleged that he groped them, touched them inappropriately, and sexually assaulted them. (WUSA9)

A Wisconsin nurse pleaded not guilty to charges around the amputation of a patient’s frostbitten foot without his consent and without doctor’s orders. Mary K. Brown had been charged with mayhem and with physical abuse of an elderly person. (CBS News)

Michigan physician Sangita Patel, MD, was indicted by a federal grand jury for submitting more than $1 million in false telehealth claims to Medicare, which paid her more than $448,000 for care that wasn’t provided. (MLive)

Indiana physician Kishan Chand, MD, will pay $700,000 to settle charges that his practice, Southeastern Medical Center, over-billed the state’s Medicaid program for procedures that weren’t performed as prescribed. The facility allegedly submitted more than 13,000 claims during a 5.5-year period for spinal manipulation performed under anesthesia, but there was no linked billing for an anesthesiologist or a hospital or surgical center, indicating the procedures weren’t performed under anesthesia. (Inside Indiana Business)

The Federal Trade Commission sent 24 cease-and-desist letters to providers after receiving complaints that they failed to comply with the “Contact Lens Rule,” which in part requires prescribers to give patients a copy of their contact lens prescription at the end of their visit. Some letters also cited potential violations of the Ophthalmic Practice Rules, also known as the “Eyeglass Rule,” which requires prescribers to give patients a copy of their eyeglass prescription immediately after their exam.