Another Maryland cardiologist in hot water over unnecessary procedures

Another cardiologist in Maryland has been accused of performing unwarranted procedures on multiple patients over a number of years. Dr John R McClean has been indicted on fraud charges by a federal grand jury in Baltimore; he allegedly placed hundreds of stents that were not needed and carried out unnecessary ECGs, echoes, and nuclear stress tests worth millions in combined Medicare payments, according to an article in the Baltimore Sun.

McClean is charged with one count of fraud and six counts of making false statements to insurers and patients, whose records he is said to have falsified. If convicted on all counts, he could face up to 40 years in prison, says the newspaper.

McClean surrendered practice privileges at his Eastern Shore hospital three years ago following an internal investigation at Peninsula Regional Medical Center about uncalled-for stenting procedures. The accusations of unnecessary diagnostic procedures were made later, by federal investigators.

"The indictment charges that Dr McClean egregiously violated the trust of his patients and made false entries in their medical records to justify implanting unneeded cardiac stents and billing for the surgery and follow-up care," said US Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J Rosenstein in a statement.

According to court documents cited by the paper, McClean has apparently already reimbursed more than a dozen patients and their insurers for stents that he conceded were medically unnecessary, suggesting that poor eyesight was to blame for his misjudgment. But it remains uncertain why no action was taken against McClean's medical license when he resigned his Peninsula Regional Medical Center hospital privileges in 2007. His license has been renewed since then and will now expire in 2011.

His indictment could, however, be linked to the investigation into another Maryland cardiologist, Dr Mark Midei, who is also accused of performing unnecessary procedures, this time at St Joseph's Medical Center. Midei had his practice rights suspended more than a year ago, and both he and the hospital face dozens of lawsuits. Midei denies the allegations, however, and he has not been criminally charged at this time.