The ASA is today providing a follow-up statement to that provided to The Age Newspaper in response to its 15 November story entitled “Whistleblower alleges widespread fraud by dozens of ‘double-dipping’ specialist doctors, sparking probes” by Melissa Cunningham.
The ASA believes in the protections and rights afforded to any person, patient or whistleblower who may have a grievance in relation to their or others’ experience. These rights, however, should not come at the expense of innocent and highly regulated medical specialists whose every move – both in and outside of the operating theatre – is carefully reviewed and assessed.
The Age article details “allegations that a group of doctors based on the Mornington Peninsula have been charging patients hidden out-of-pocket costs up to $5000, disguised as booking or administrative fees, for personal financial gain.”
The ASA does not condone inappropriate billing practices. The ASA works extremely closely with the Department of Health to ensure the integrity and understanding of billing is understood, and numerous complaint and investigation bodies exist, coupled with rigorous natural justice processes.
At this stage, due process should be followed to allow a verdict to be fairly reached.
In spite of this, reputations have been tarnished in the court of public opinion, driven in part by third party commentators.
With only one anaesthesia practice in the Mornington Peninsula (VIC), each one of the 26 practicing specialists working there are now potentially at risk of severe reputational damage, having all been implicated by a speculative media story concerning an unspecified number of people.
The article also quotes commentators in the healthcare sector who were quick to jump on a whistleblower’s account and claim that this “conduct is widespread”, further casting doubt on the wider profession.
These commentators should reflect on their own response to this story, and what it does to the confidence patients have in the system of public and private healthcare.
The ASA asks The Age Newspaper, and those who contributed to the article to both reflect and remedy what has taken place, in a way they believe is appropriate.
Statement by Dr Mark Sinclair, ASA President