Deviant Physicians: How a Demographic Portrait of Medical Doctors is Created by Regulatory Agencies in the U.S.

• In Event: Theory and Research on the Demographic and Psychological Characteristics of White-Collar Offenders

Abstract

This study examines nearly 1,200 medical doctors who have been denied further participation in Medicare and Medicaid by the Office of Inspector General (OIG), in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physicians were excluded for various reasons, including healthcare fraud, patient neglect, use/abuse of controlled substances, and other matters. The study considers data on physicians who appeared on the OIGs List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (LEIE), including sex, age, birthplace, medical school training, medical specialty, practice location, and medical malpractice history. Demographic information was collected from public sources, including HealthGrades and state licensing boards. Initial findings suggest that deviant physicians tend to be: older than the general physician population, male, over-represented by certain medical specialties (e.g., psychiatry), lacking a history of medical malpractice, international medical graduates, and practicing in areas with relatively high proportions of Medicare and Medicaid eligible patients. These results are compared to those of previous studies along with implications for policy and future research in this area.

Author

• Bryan Burton, Southern Utah University