Here we are again, dear readers!  It’s Wednesday, so what better time to check your MPNs and list of liens for any bills from a certain Gary Wisner, M.D.

Very recently, a jury trial in Sacramento returned a guilty verdict against Gary Wisner, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon, for health insurance fraud.  The allegations in the charges including hundreds of unnecessary x-rays, some to body parts unrelated to the medical condition or claim. 

What does this have to do with workers’ compensation?  Why is your humble blogger clogging up your inbox with this story?  Well, the San Joaquin County District Attorney has filed charges against Dr. Wisner for workers’ compensation fraud as well.  While there is no conviction at this time pertaining to workers’ compensation fraud, and it would fly in the face of our legal system to assume anything other than Dr. Wisner’s innocence in this regard absent a conviction, perhaps it’s time to check the books?

As President Ronald Reagan was often credited with saying, “trust but verify.”  If you have pending bills from Dr. Wisner, now would probably be a pretty good time to look into them to make sure that treatment was rendered for the accepted body parts, within the MPN, and properly performed and documented.

Further, we might all benefit from remembering that so much of a legal determination turns on the credibility of the involved parties.  When an award is based on a document made under penalty of perjury from a physician, and the court has reason to believe that such a declaration is suspect, the weight of that document should decrease accordingly.  Your humble blogger submits to you that once a person has been convicted for fraud, that person’s credibility in all things should be questioned.

Until next time, dear readers.