Becker's ASC Review

42 HEALTHCARE NEWS Judge tosses lawsuit alleging New York orthopedic surgeon set former office manager up for arrest By Alan Condon A civil lawsuit that alleged an NYU Langone orthopedic surgeon set his office manager up for a charge of grand larceny has been thrown out by a Manhattan judge, e Madison Leader Gazette reported Oct. 2. John Kennedy, MD, head of the New York City-based system's foot and ankle divi- sion of orthopedic surgery, was accused of threatening and harassing Susanne Schafmeister, the surgeon's former office manager who he began dating more than 10 years before she became operations manager at his private practice, according to court documents. But attorneys for Dr. Kennedy filed a coun- tersuit that alleged Ms. Schafmeister made up her claims aer she was confronted for allegedly embezzling more than $200,000 from his practice. In November 2019, Ms. Schafmeister was arrested on grand larceny charges for writ- ing a $12,000 bonus check to herself from Dr. Kennedy's private practice. In the law- suit, she said Dr. Kennedy told her to issue the check and then filed a complaint stating she did not have permission to do so. Ms. Schafmeister denies those allegations as well as allegations that she embezzled more than $200,000 from the practice. In June, Ms. Schafmeister pleaded guilty to petit larceny and agreed to pay $2,000 res- titution to Dr. Kennedy. A judge in August dismissed her lawsuit against the surgeon, according to the report. n California ASC owner faces insurance fraud allegations By Alan Condon I nsurance fraud charges will stand against a pain man- agement physician and ASC owner in California for al- legedly bilking a workers compensation insurer, accord- ing to court documents provided on Justia. Four notes: 1. Sanjoy Banerjee, MD, founded Pacific Pain Care in Wil- domar, Calif., in 2010 and established two other entities — Kensington Diagnostics and Rochester Imperial Surgical Center — at the same site in 2014. 2. Dr. Banerjee allegedly referred patients to the two entities and billed workers compensation insurer Berkshire Hatha- way Homestate Companies for their services. Under Section 139.3 of California's labor code, "A physician who refers to or seeks consultation from an organization in which the physician has a financial interest shall disclose this interest to the patient or if the patient is a minor, to the patient's par- ents or legal guardian in writing at the time of the referral." 3. Perjury charges against Dr. Banerjee will be set aside, as the statute allows a "physician to render services to patients through separate legal entities, including entities in which the physician has a financial interest, provided that the ser- vices are rendered within the same 'physician's office' or the office of a group practice," according to the court. 4. The court concluded that the insurance fraud charges against Dr. Banerjee will stand, after evidence showed that he presented "false and fraudulent claims for healthcare benefits to [Berkshire Hathaway] through Kensington and Rochester, with the specific intent to defraud [Berkshire Hathaway]." n 18% of healthcare workers have quit jobs during pandemic: Morning Consult By Kelly Gooch S ince February 2020, nearly 1 in 5 healthcare workers, or 18 percent, have quit their jobs, according to new poll results from Morning Consult, a global privately held data intelligence company. The poll, conducted in September among 1,000 U.S. healthcare workers, also found that 12 percent of workers have been laid off or lost a job, while 19 per- cent of those who kept them have considered leav- ing their job and the healthcare industry during the pandemic. Twelve percent of those who kept their jobs have considered leaving their job for another healthcare role, according to the poll. The poll showed the exodus is primarily driven by the pandemic, insufficient pay or opportunities, and burnout, according to Morning Consult. "You have physicians, you have nurses, dropping out, retiring early, leaving practice, changing jobs," Dharam Kaushik, MD, a urologist at the University of Texas Health, San Antonio, told the company. "You're experiencing loss of manpower in a field that was already short on manpower before the pandemic hit." In the poll, 79 percent of healthcare professionals said shortages have affected them and their work- place. n

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