Indian-American doctors accused of performing unnecessary ops

Nearly 300 patients of three cardiologists in the US, including two Indian-Americans, have filed lawsuits against the doctors, claiming they performed needless procedures on them.
Dr Arvind Gandhi, 65, and his partners, Dr Wail Asfour, 53, and Dr Satyaprakash Makam, 61, received nearly USD 5 million in combined Medicare payments in 2012, making them the three most reimbursed cardiologists in Indiana, The New York Times reported.
The Indiana state Medicaid programme has started an investigation against Munster, Indiana-based Gandhi, Asfour and Makam in response to the lawsuit filed by 293 patients.
"I had received a subpoena from the United States attorney's office and provided the medical charts of several former patients of Gandhi and his colleagues that he has since treated," one of the doctors not named was quoted as saying by the Times.

Lawyers for Dr Gandhi and his practice, Cardiology Associates of Northwest Indiana, said they had not received any subpoenas, and the doctors denied any wrongdoing.
The partners invested in real estate, including luxury apartments in Chicago, and a local restaurant, it said.

Besides the doctors, the malpractice lawsuits also name Community Hospital in Munster, where "Dr Gandhi was a star", through the foundation that oversees its operations, as a defendant.
Dr Gandhi was a high-ranking member of the medical staff at the hospital, and the lawsuits charge that the superfluous procedures were done "with the authority and consent" of Community Hospital, it said.

Lawyers for the hospital deny any wrongdoing.
Lawyers for Dr Gandhi, his practice and the hospital, say the lawsuits are without merit. The legal actions, they say, are being driven by envious physicians eager to take patients from him and by greedy lawyers seeking a big settlement.
"The physicians at Cardiology Associates have exemplary records as outstanding cardiologists and leaders in their field," the lawyers said in a statement.
Last fall, Dr Gandhi retired.