A western Michigan dermatologist accused of using unsanitary practices that exposed thousands of patients to infection has received a 10½ year prison sentence for insurance fraud.
Dr. Robert Stokes had offices in Grand Rapids and Greenville, Michigan.
A federal jury in April convicted him of health care fraud.
Prosecutors said he overbilled insurers by about $2 million.
Ex-employees told fraud investigators that Stokes habitually reused sutures, hypodermic syringes and hypodermic needles on multiple patients.
U.S. District Judge Gordon Quist also fined him $175,000. Restitution will be determined later.
Stokes didn't admit guilt but told the judge he never meant to harm his patients.
Read the article from mlive.com Everything Michigan
Stokes sentenced to less than maximum Û here
and for your benefit ...
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This is a "sore subject with me....
"Didn't mean to "harm" patients?"
Yeah, right.
This so-called doctor took it to the extreme - and he DID risk the lives of his patients whether he wants to believe it or not.
Get real... Doctor of the Year!
I don't know about you, but I've had a problem the last few years at doctor and dental offices, not to mention hospitals.
For now, I'll just stick to offices.
I know insurance costs have gone sky-high, and medical malpractice insurance has even forced doctors out of business.
But that just isn't any excuse for being unsanitary in your medical practice.
It has become more evident that doctors and their staff care more about protecting themselves from germs and bacteria than they do their patients.
When was the last time you actually saw a doctor wash his/her hands before they began administering healthcare to you in their office? Let alone after they are finished working on you?
Admit it...it's a rarity.
Those sinks in the office are dry. The hot water almost never runs. Where's the soap?
Some of them may use hand sanitizer, but I hardly see that, and there is a science to using that product too.
And the dentist's offices that push people in and out like cattle. Are they really disinfecting that equipment, wiping it down with alcohol, in-between each patient, as they are required to be doing? Are you sure?
What about the healthcare workers wearing those scrubs. It used to be you wore your street clothes to work and changed into scrubs at the healthcare facility. That way bacteria from the outside world, like maybe from the city bus, the car, etc. wouldn't be on your clothes so it could be transferred to a patient.
It's too much trouble now for an office to have a washer and dryer or to send out their scrubs to be cleaned. Healthcare workers are wearing these scrubs back and forth to home, to the grocery store, washing them in their own washers and spreading bacteria to patients and to themselves. Sounds good to me.
With the growing problem of MERSA and the regular Staph infection problems in hospitals, and the lack of effectiveness of antibiotics, isn't it time to take another look at the sloppy practices going on in these medical offices? It's time to start questioning your own doctor about what is going on.
I once had a dentist who was literally working on a patient, came to where a dental hygienist was working on me to do a quick exam, and instead of taking off his gloves with blood on them (and wasting them?) he actually had the hygienist put another pair of gloves"over" his dirty gloves and thought I would allow him to examine me! Are you kidding me???
Sorry.... I'm a germaphobe. And that was just being CHEAP.
So next time you are at the doctor or dentist, take a look around.
You'll notice what I'm talking about.
Will you speak up?
Seriously, what have you got to lose?
At most you will have an embarrassed doctor or nurse. And they should be embarrassed.
