Becker's ASC Review

53 GASTROENTEROLOGY California gastroenterologist sentenced in fraud scheme 'motivated by greed' By Carly Behm A 73-year-old gastroenterologist was sentenced to three years of proba- tion, 1,000 hours of community service and a $2.9 million restitution payment for his involvement in a decades-long insurance fraud scheme, according to a Jan. 29 report from mynewsla.com. Mario Rosenberg, MD, faced two counts of filing false claims to 16 insurance companies, the report said. One piece of evidence showed he billed for 35 hours of medical procedures in a 24-hour period. He entered a no-contest plea Jan. 24, 2014. Although he didn't plead guilty, he said he should have known better. Dr. Rosenberg is the last of 19 physicians indicted in the fraud scheme, the report said. Twenty-two million dollars was lost under his fraudulent billing, and the total loss of the more than 20-year operation was $154 million. Fourth District Appellate Court Justice Thomas Goethals said in court that pun- ishment was necessary, as Dr. Rosenberg became "motivated by greed" to earn more money. He wanted Dr. Rosenberg to keep his medical license so he could do community service at a clinic, but he could still face prison time if he violates the terms of his probation, including failing to pay restitution. n CMS colonoscopy quality measure may be inaccurate, study says By Eric Oliver P atients who received an outpa- tient colonoscopy seldom go to the emergency rooms for un- planned complications, and of those who do it's oen for reasons unrelated to the procedure, according to a study published in Clinical and Experimen- tal Gastroenterology. Researchers conducted a retrospec- tive single-center observational study from July 2018 to December 2019 reviewing 5,344 outpatient colonos- copies. Researchers found 1.05 percent or 56 patients had a post-colonoscopy ER visit. irty-two percent of total patients reported gastrointestinal symptoms like abdominal pain or GI bleeding. Patients who had GI symp- toms had a higher rate of polypecto- mies performed and were more likely to use illicit drugs. About 41 percent of patients who went to the ER went for reasons unrelated to colonoscopy. Researchers performed the study in response to CMS' decision to publicly report the quality of outpatient endos- copy facilities by using risk-standard- ized rates of unplanned hospital visits within seven days of a colonoscopy. Researchers concluded: "Our study highlights that unplanned visits with- in seven days of colonoscopy are not necessarily related to the procedure, and those that are, tend to be due to unavoidable patient factors. Hence the CMS measure may not be an accurate determinant of the quality of proce- dure or facility care delivered." n Family history, obesity among 1st risk factors for early-onset CRC, study says By Eric Oliver F amily history of colorectal cancer, hyperlipidemia, obesity and alcohol con- sumption could all be risk factors behind developing early-onset colorectal cancer, according to a Jan. 28 study published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Researchers performed a systematic literature review and analysis of studies that looked at factors that could contribute to CRC. Twenty studies were included in the review. Researchers identified four significant factors that could increase early-onset CRC risk: • Having a first-degree relative with CRC • Hyperlipidemia • Obesity • Alcohol consumption Smoking was believed to be a risk factor, but the association was not statistically significant. Some other potential risk factors are hypertension, metabolic syndrome, ulcer- ative colitis, chronic kidney disease, dietary factors, sedentary behavior and oc- cupational exposure to organic dusts; however, these factors need more studies to solidify their statistical significance. Researchers said more research is needed on generalizable populations that examine risk. n

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