Gregory Shankman, MD, a former orthopedic surgeon in New York, surrendered his medical license and was sentenced for pleading guilty to defrauding workers compensation of around $87,000, according to WorkersCompensation.com.
Here are four things to know:
1. Dr. Shankman pleaded guilty to billing workers compensation as overseeing claimant medical examinations in one location when he was traveling across the state; in some cases he was even out of the country during the exams. He also billed for cases that occurred simultaneously in different locations.
2. According to the report, the New York State Inspector General's office found he was not in his offices in Utica, N.Y., for more than 150 days from January 2015 to August 2017, when he certified he was at the office and overseeing exams. Instead, many of the days he was performing exams at his Buffalo, N.Y.-based office or traveling elsewhere.
3. Patients at the Utica office were often seen by a midlevel provider without Dr. Shankman's presence.
4. Dr. Shankman forfeited his medical license and paid $86,896 in restitution. He was also "sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge."