Ringgold, Ga.-based "alternative medicine" physician Charles Adams, MD, has been found liable for submitting $1.1 million worth of false diagnoses to Medicare for chelation therapy reimbursements, the Justice Department said June 16.
Dr. Adams and his practice group Full Circle Medical Center used edetate calcium disodium to treat a wide range of conditions, including atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, headaches, gastrointestinal ailments, fatigue and other generalized symptoms, despite the drug being only recognized to treat lead poisoning and lead encephalopathy.
Dr. Adams billed Medicare for the prescriptions and falsely claimed to Medicare that his patients suffered from heavy metal poisoning.
From November 2008 to September 2015, he also knowingly submitted more than 4,400 false claims for medically unnecessary chelation therapy administered using EDTA.