A Wilmington, Del., physician agreed to pay $1,080,000 to resolve allegations that he violated the False Claims Act.
Between February 2018 and April 2019, Vishal Patel, MD, referred patients for more than 1,750 orthotic devices without any medical justification or patient relationships, according to a Sept. 11 news release from the Justice Department.
Medicare and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program paid an average of more than $400 for each device, which included wrist, shoulder, knee, ankle and back braces.
Dr. Patel received the patient charts from RediDoc, a telemedicine company based in Phoenix. In May 2022, RediDoc pleaded guilty to a $64 million healthcare fraud conspiracy, according to the Justice Department.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations, and there is no determination of liability, the release said.