Federal investigators are looking into allegations that radiology practitioner assistants (RPAs) at an Oklahoma hospital performed medical procedures without the required supervision of radiologists, according to an article published in the Oklahoman.
The investigation is based on allegations by a radiologist who worked at Norman Regional Health System from 2008 to 2012. The radiologist allegedly told the health system's chief operating officer (COO) that RPAs were performing procedures without radiologists present, and Medicare and other federal health programs were being billed for the services.
The radiologist filed a whistleblower lawsuit in 2014 that names the health system and the COO, as well as six radiologists. The allegations in the lawsuit were unsealed on January 17, according to the article.
