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Monday, Feb. 15, 2010 | 6:42 p.m.
Sun Topics
Sun Archives
- J-1 doctors, employers are under scrutiny (1-25-2009)
- Foreign physicians back boss — to a point (8-30-2008)
- State confronts J-1 complaints (8-8-2008)
- Doctor's J-1 actions go under microscope (8-7-2008)
- State knew of abuses, did almost nothing (8-4-2008)
- Indentured Doctors (9-30-2007)
State officials have identified six Las Vegas doctors, including two prominent physicians, under federal investigation for alleged violations of the law that guides a program that brings foreign doctors to medically needy communities.
Christine Roden, who manages the so-called J-1 visa waiver program for the Nevada State Health Division, said the Department of Homeland Security is investigating whether the doctors sponsored the visa paperwork and hired foreign physicians to work in medically needy communities, but then reassigned them to work in affluent areas not listed in their visa applications.
Roden said Department of Homeland Security subpoenaed records for six employers:
• Dr. Rachakonda D. Prabhu, a pulmonologist who built his practice with the labor of dozens of doctors involved in the J-1 program. Prabhu, who in November attended President Barack Obama’s first state dinner at the White House, denies there is any investigation and would not comment for this story.
• Dr. Sherif Abdou, one of the founders of Summit Medical Group and the current president and CEO of Healthcare Partners of Nevada. Abdou told the Sun in October 2007 that it’s possible he broke federal law because he never intended for the foreign doctors he hired to work in the underserved clinics. Abdou did not return calls for this story.
• Dr. Abdul Siddiqui, an internist who said last week that he was not able to abide by the terms of the J-1 program because it wasn’t viable financially.
• Dr. Nutan Parikh, an oncologist who hired four foreign doctors to work in Pahrump, then also assigned them to work extra hours in Las Vegas hospitals.
His former employees told the Sun in 2007 that the doctors never worked the required amount of time in the Pahrump clinic. Parikh said last week he tried to ensure the doctors abided by the terms of the program, but it may not have happened all the time.
The two other doctors whose files were subpoenaed by the feds are Dr. David Ezeanolue and Dr. Dhiresh Joshi. Roden said she discovered during her site inspections that they were not following the guidelines for the program.
Joshi did not return the Sun’s call for a comment for this story. Ezeanolue said he had heard of no investigation and that he has since been absolved of any allegations of wrongdoing by amending his visa application to show all the locations where his employee-doctor was working.
Roden said she met with the Homeland Security investigator and he said that certain employers failed to list the addresses where the J-1 doctors were employed on their visa applications.
Damn Norweigians.
This article does not say that Dr. Prahbu, also worked for VA here in Las Vegas. He treated me for quite some time, I personally thought he was as good of a Doctor, that I have ever been treated bye.............
All greedy foreign doctors. Just like Dipak Desai.
Uh oh.. When friends of the President get investigated the investigator usually gets fired. If you remember the IG for Americorp was fired for investigating the $800,000 in misspent money by now Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson.
The Mayor has never repaid any funds and never answered why his emails were deleted from computers after the investigation began. Just another government watchdog thrown under the bus to protect friends of Obama.
Welcome to Bollywood!
India is a diploma mills. You can print out all sort of degrees. If they're real caring doctors , how come they're not treating people in their own country?? Google "Dr Death" and make sure you check qualification before having any invasive procedures.
Where do American,Canadian, and British doctors go? To India. We get the throwback Indian doctors in America. You have a better chance of geetting an American doctor in India than you do right here in America. Less red tape, Cheap malpracrice insurance. Many Americans and Canadians go to India for hip replacements and knee replacemants for about 10% of the cost here in America.
Hi rayne3220 - The foreign medical school graduates who are working here in the United States must pass the same exams as American-born doctors to work here. They go through a careful licensing process to work in the United States so it's not like they're untrained. Also, in many cases they are the cream of the crop in their home countries and do prestigious residencies and fellowships here in the United States, so some of them are highly trained and qualified.
Most Foreign physicians coming to USA have already been trained in their country. Like US physician, they take United States Medical Licensing Examination and go through the same accredited trained programs in USA, as do US born physicians. So they are as good as US born physician, if not better.
You would get one or two or few bad apples amongst foreign physicians and the same is true for USA born and trained physicians.
When ONE new American medical school opens every 20 years, you get foreign doctors. They come here becuase we overpay doctors in relative terms more than any other country in the world. (Search purchasing power parity). The AMA tightly controls the supply of doctors, unlike for instance the american bar association approving new law schools like candy.
Regardless, to say this is a problem of "foreign doctors" is ignorant. This is a problem of crooked jerks. Gotta love the guy who "denies there is any investigation."