Stark Act and Fraud & Abuse Issues-News, Guidance and Analysis
Nurse Who Blew Whistle on Doctor Stands Trial
In what may be an unprecedented prosecution, Anne Mitchell was scheduled to stand trial Feb. 8 in a Texas court for "misuse of official information," a third-degree felony charge, after reporting a physician last April to the Texas Medical Board for what she deemed improper prescribing and surgical procedures, according to a story in The New York Times.
Mrs. Mitchell, who had been an administrative nurse until she was fired without explanation June 1 from her job at Winkler County Memorial Hospital in Kermit, Texas, has argued that she had a professional obligation to protect patients, according to the Times report.
The prosecution has countered that Mrs. Mitchell had a history of making "inflammatory" statements about the physician, Rolando G. Arafiles Jr., MD, and wanted to damage his reputation.
The defendant's attorneys have filed a civil lawsuit in federal court charging the hospital, county, prosecutor and others involved with vindictive prosecution and denial of the nurses' First Amendment rights.
Read The New York Times' story on the whistleblower nurse's trial.
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