Chesapeake (Va.) Regional Medical Center is facing federal criminal charges related to unnecessary surgeries performed by a physician who was convicted of 52 federal counts in 2020.
On Jan. 8, a federal grand jury indicted the hospital on charges of healthcare fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Prosecutors say the hospital was complicit in an extensive scheme that allowed Javaid Perwaiz, MD, a former OB-GYN, to perform unnecessary surgeries for nearly a decade, despite questionable billing practices and concerns raised by hospital colleagues.
The hospital received approximately $18.5 million in reimbursements from federal and commercial insurers for surgeries and procedures Dr. Perwaiz performed between 2010 to 2019, prosecutors allege. In May 2021, he was sentenced to 59 years in prison after being convicted of 52 counts of healthcare fraud and false statements. Thirty-eight of those counts involved procedures performed at the hospital, including unnecessary hysterectomies and improper sterilizations.
The indictment claims Dr. Perwaiz altered obstetric records to meet insurance criteria for certain procedures. For instance, prosecutors allege he fabricated due dates to justify early elective inductions. According to the indictment, hospital leaders were aware of the physician's troubling history, including the termination of his surgical privileges at another hospital in the 1980s, and a 1996 conviction on federal tax charges.
Despite this, federal authorities allege CRMC allowed him to continue practicing until his arrest.
"After Dr. Perwaiz was convicted of performing irreversible hysterectomies and other medically unnecessary surgeries on women, we continued to investigate the role that CRMC played," Jessica Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said in a statement. "As alleged in the indictment, Dr. Perwaiz did not act alone in this conspiracy to needlessly sterilize and otherwise harm women … CRCM was complicit in this horrifying scheme to place profits over patient care."
In a statement sent to Becker's, Chesapeake Regional Healthcare, the hospital's parent company, called the allegations "unfounded and excessive overreach."
The health system said it will respond more fully in court.
"Chesapeake Regional is dedicated to patient safety, prioritizing high-quality care that meets rigorous national standards," the statement said. "Safety protocols are continually monitored to ensure the greatest level of care protecting the health and welfare of patients, families and staff. The health system takes its corporate responsibility seriously, supporting a culture of honesty, integrity and dignity."