Advanced Urology and Jitesh Patel will pay $14 million to settle False Claims Act case involving allegations of fraudulent billing and unnecessary medical procedures

ATLANTA –Jitesh Patel, M.D., Advanced Urology, Inc., and affiliated companies (collectively “Advanced Urology”) will pay $14 million to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act and the Georgia False Medicaid Claims Act by billing federal healthcare programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, for a series of urological and diagnostic procedures that were not performed or were medically unnecessary. “Today’s action underscores our commitment to safeguarding federal health care programs from fraud and abuse,” said Special Agent in Charge Kelly Blackmon of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Allegations of upcoding and medically unnecessary procedures undermine the integrity of Medicare and other government programs. We will continue working closely with our law enforcement partners to ensure that providers who submit false claims are held accountable.” "This settlement should serve as a strong deterrent to healthcare practitioners who abandon their Hippocratic Oath while seeking to exploit and defraud TRICARE, which provides critical healthcare services to those who defend our nation, retirees, and their families,” said Jason Sargenski, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office. “DCIS, alongside our law enforcement partners, will continue to aggressively investigate allegations of healthcare providers who defraud the U.S. Government, and will seek justice on behalf of our men and women in uniform.” The government’s investigation began after a former Advanced Urology employee filed a whistleblower complaint alleging that Advanced Urology performed unnecessary procedures. A former Advanced Urology physician filed a second whistleblower complaint alleging that the practice billed government healthcare programs for procedures and tests that were not performed or were medically unnecessary. The whistleblowers alleged, among other things, that Advanced Urology’s organization was designed to maximize revenue for Dr. Patel and others by performing medically unnecessary procedures and tests, by engaging in the following practices, among others: Implanting permanent Sacral Nerve Stimulator devices in patients without first determining whether the patients would benefit from the device. Performing numerous unnecessary Cystoscopy and Retrograde Pyelogram procedures, which involved placing a patient under anesthesia and inserting a small scope through the patient’s urethra and into the bladder. Performing an Electromyography test on almost every new patient at Advanced Urology even though it is rarely used in urology practices. This test involved transmitting electrical signals through an electrode attached to the patient’s genitalia. Ordering thousands of unnecessary ultrasound tests, including duplex ultrasounds and retroperitoneal ultrasounds. The whistleblowers also alleged that Advanced Urology billed for a procedure known as Direct Visual Internal Urethrotomy (“DVIU”) that it never performed. The DVIU procedure involves using a scope to dilate a patient’s urethra and a knife to cut tissue inside the urethra. Allegedly, Advanced Urology performed a less complicated dilation of the urethra but billed government healthcare programs for DVIU to obtain more payment than it was owed. The whistleblowers alleged that Advanced Urology and Dr. Patel’s conduct resulted in the submission of false claims to federal healthcare programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, in violation of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729, et seq., and the Georgia False Medicaid Claims Act, O.C.G.A. §§ 49-4-168.1, et seq. Under the False Claims Act, private citizens may bring suit for false claims on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery obtained by the government. The Relators will collectively receive $2,940,000 from the settlement.