This humble blogger’s beloved readers know that he is not one who likes to name names.  Things happen, mistakes get made, and adverse decisions are no reason to embarrass an applicant, defendant, or attorney.

But, in cases of fraudsters and swindlers, your humble blogger does not hesitate to “make them famous” to the extent this humble blog can.  The same goes for qualified medical evaluators who try to game the system to rip rob defendants and harm patients.

That being said, have you heard of Richard K. Skala, D.C. of Fremont?  This chiropractor recently entered into a stipulated settlement with the Department of Industrial Relations over his… “conduct.”  The allegations made included not identifying evaluation locations, overbilling, and other behavior disfavored in California.

Skala was placed on suspension, with the 90 day suspension period suspended pending successful completion of probation for six months.  The Statement of Issues, withdrawn as part of the plea bargain, noted that he engaged in self-referral to his partner, Ramanathan Prakash, M.D. on several occasions.  If that name sounds familiar, it’s because the good doctor was convicted of health care fraud after a jury trial in Sacramento, and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison back in October of 2012.

Is Richard Skala one of your PQMEs?  If he is, your humble blogger most humbly suggests that you check up on his referrals, and inquire as to whether he has a financial interest in any of them.  That’s the sort of conduct that expands one’s profile on the PQME Discipline List.