The dean who was hired less than three years ago to fix problems at the University of Missouri School of Medicine has resigned as the school faces a federal fraud investigation.
Dr. Robert Churchill will leave the university in October to prevent further distractions surrounding the investigation of two of the school's radiologists, according to MU officials.
The radiologists, Dr. Kenneth Rall and Dr. Michael Richards, were dismissed Friday as part of the shake-up after an internal audit found the doctors illegally billed Medicare for services performed by resident doctors in training.
A law firm conducted the audit for the university after the U.S. Attorney's Office in Kansas City notified the school in November 2011 of its investigation into potential Medicare fraud. Rall stepped down as radiology department chairman in December, but stayed on as a professor.
"We were shocked and disappointed to learn about this, because any kind of fraud is entirely inconsistent with our health system's values, our mission, and our commitment to patient care," said Dr. Harold Williamson Jr., vice chancellor of the University of Missouri Health System, in a statement.
Both radiologists have clean records with the Missouri State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts, which licenses and regulates doctors.
Department of Justice spokesman Don Ledford said the agency doesn't discuss pending investigations.
In what it calls the early stages of its own investigation, school officials said they have not turned up any evidence that radiology patients were harmed.
Resident physicians are allowed to read patients' X-rays, but cannot bill Medicare for the procedure unless the images are also analyzed by a supervising doctor.
"We believe these two doctors sometimes claimed that they had actually completed this second review without actually looking at the image," Williamson said in the statement.
View original post here:
MU medical school dean resigns as school is under investigation
- "Shift Happens" - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Getting Started With Your Personal Statement - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- I started this blog 1 year ago. I'm ready to become a medical doctor. - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Poll Results: "What is your GPA?" - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Why Ross University School of Medicine? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Why Ross University? (Continued) - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Filling out applications with the last 4 years in mind. - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- "Active and Passive Euthanasia" - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- 300 Word Personal Statement - First Draft - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- 300 Word Personal Statement - 2nd Draft - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- "Where did you do EMT training at?" - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- "is this jonathan that went to brazil in the summer of 2006?" - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- First Application is Away - Ross University - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- AMCAS—The American Medical College Application Service - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Student Doctor Network - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Crime Incident - Public Safety Announcement: STUDENTS - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- AMCAS Deadlines & Delays - Answered - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Headstart on Secondary Applications - The Student Doctor Network - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Complete Medical School & Admissions Guide - Revisited - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Interview Status - Ross University - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Finished my first interview. - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- "You have a 95% chance of acceptance..." - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- "I was just wondering if I have to go to medical school i will have to start college allover again." - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Interview Feedback - Allopathic Medical Schools - Ross University School of Medicine (Dominica Caribbean) - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- ACCEPTED! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Step 1 Revisited - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- A Few More Thoughts On Moving - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Update - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Closing In - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Internet/Computer Hell - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Back On The Net - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- 1 More Day - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Loan Deferment Blog - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Graduated! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- What Happened? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Interesting Case - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- What Made Me Stupid? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Blah. - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Call - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Medicine in the Media - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Was Medical School Worth It? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Off I Go... - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Is It Worth It, Part 2 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Oriented - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- GLBT in Medical School - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- GLBT in Residency Applications - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- I Survived - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Reflections on the First Week - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- All Good Things Must End - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Lone Coyote is Back - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Pre-med student switches gears to teach in Chicago school - Chicago Tribune - March 8th, 2010 [March 8th, 2010]
- Old-school barbecue coming to spot near Fort Worth medical district - Fort Worth Star Telegram - March 8th, 2010 [March 8th, 2010]
- Nursing home drug use puts many at risk - Boston Globe - March 8th, 2010 [March 8th, 2010]
- Dr. Anita Figueredo, first female surgeon in San Diego, dies at 93 - Los Angeles Times - March 8th, 2010 [March 8th, 2010]
- Stimulus funds pay for monkey research in NC - MiamiHerald.com - March 8th, 2010 [March 8th, 2010]
- Medicine as an economic engine - Buffalo News - March 8th, 2010 [March 8th, 2010]
- UM medical school feels the squeeze - MiamiHerald.com - March 8th, 2010 [March 8th, 2010]
- HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL ADVISER Bell's palsy not as serious as it appears - Detroit Free Press - March 8th, 2010 [March 8th, 2010]
- Baylor medical school works to get back on track - Houston Chronicle - March 8th, 2010 [March 8th, 2010]
- From community college to Amherst College and Yale Medical School - WalletPop (blog) - March 8th, 2010 [March 8th, 2010]
- Man questions merit of coke monkey study - UPI.com - March 8th, 2010 [March 8th, 2010]
- School Board has questions it wants answered about onsite medical clinic - Terre Haute Tribune Star - March 9th, 2010 [March 9th, 2010]
- Stimulus Funds Pay for Monkey Research - NewsMax.com - March 9th, 2010 [March 9th, 2010]
- Babylon schools head: Teen's collapse unrelated to athletics - Newsday (subscription) - March 9th, 2010 [March 9th, 2010]
- Cost Of Medical School Rises In Recession - NPR - March 9th, 2010 [March 9th, 2010]
- Flu Shots in Children Help People of All Ages - New York Times - March 9th, 2010 [March 9th, 2010]
- A prescription for improving science education - Scope (blog) - March 9th, 2010 [March 9th, 2010]
- Live kidney donors do not die sooner: study - Reuters - March 9th, 2010 [March 9th, 2010]
- UW football player suspended after alleged assault - Seattle Post Intelligencer - March 10th, 2010 [March 10th, 2010]
- More Comparative Studies Needed to Guide Physicians Study finds less than a ... - ModernMedicine - March 10th, 2010 [March 10th, 2010]
- Conservationists worry about Mo. med school plan - KOAM-TV - March 10th, 2010 [March 10th, 2010]
- Dr. William D. Lynn - Baltimore Sun - March 10th, 2010 [March 10th, 2010]
- Suspect in North Dallas shootings became reclusive after parents died, family says - Dallas Morning News - March 10th, 2010 [March 10th, 2010]
- Drinkers Gain Less Weight - Harvard Crimson - March 10th, 2010 [March 10th, 2010]
- Long-Term Health Risks Low for Kidney Donors - WebMD - March 10th, 2010 [March 10th, 2010]
- School resource officer remains in critical condition - Middletown Journal - March 10th, 2010 [March 10th, 2010]
- New Lucian Leape Institute Report Finds That U.S. Medical Schools Are Falling ... - PR Newswire (press release) - March 10th, 2010 [March 10th, 2010]
- Dual degrees program expands for Mayo Medical School students - Post-Bulletin - March 10th, 2010 [March 10th, 2010]
- Comparative Effectiveness Research is a Must - TopNews United States - March 10th, 2010 [March 10th, 2010]
- Long Beach OKs medical pot ordinance - Contra Costa Times - March 10th, 2010 [March 10th, 2010]