ATLANTA — A Conyers doctor agreed to pay nearly $2 million in settlements after she was accused of performing "unnecessary" surgeries.
Doctor Aarti D. Pandya, who also runs Pandya Practice group, agreed to pay $1,850,000 after a lawsuit was filed claiming she performed these surgeries to receive insurance payments from Medicare, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.
From 2011 to 2016, Pandya was believed to have performed cataract extraction surgeries and YAG laser capsulotomies, even when customers didn’t have cataracts. Some of the patients were injured during these procedures, according to the release.
In addition to performing unnecessary procedures, the lawsuit also claimed Pandya “falsely diagnosed patients with glaucoma” so she could bill Medicare, the government-funded insurance agency covering those patients.
These tests were either not performed correctly, were done with a broken machine or “were not interpreted in the medical record, as required by Medicare,” according to the release.
Laura Dildine, a former employee who worked for Pandya, filed the lawsuit under the provisions of the False Claims Act. The act allowed Dildine to sue for false claims on behalf of the United States, according to the release.
During the lawsuit, the United States Department of Health and Human Services imposed a payment suspension on Pandya Practice Group in 2019, which was unsuccessfully challenged by Pandya.
Once the settlement was reached, Pandya and her practice entered an Integrity Agreement and Conditional Exclusion Release. Pandya will have to undergo training and hire an outside group to review claims made by her practice each year.
