Monroeville psychiatrist charged with billing Medicaid while license suspended

As reported by eTrib Live

A Monroeville psychiatrist accused of Medicaid fraud, theft and delivery of controlled substances had lost his license through Pennsylvania and Ohio suspensions.

The state attorney general's office on Thursday charged Jopindar P. Harika, 61, with more than 100 counts of Medicaid fraud, attempted Medicaid fraud, theft by deception, tampering with public records, delivery of a controlled substance and unlawful prescribing.

“I'm confident that once he has his day in court, we will be able to prevail in these charges,” said Jan Ira Medoff, Harika's attorney. “These are just allegations.”

Harika told a grand jury he was aware his license was suspended for 32 days in 2012 because of unpaid child support in Allegheny County when he is alleged to have seen 565 patients and written prescriptions for at least 453 patients at three mental health agencies in Philadelphia and Berks County.

According to the grand jury presentment, “Harika gave a variety of excuses as to why he continued to practice medicine when he knew that his license was suspended.”

Many of the clients that Harika reported seeing were not billed to Medicaid, but according to the presentment, Harika did bill $59,000 to Medicaid through three agencies: Multicultural Wellness Center in Philadelphia and Reading Behavioral Health Services and Child and Family Support Services in Reading.

The agencies paid him $73,380 in salary.

Administrators from the three facilities said they fired Harika at varying points in 2013.

Multicultural returned $135,000 in fraudulent billing based upon Harika's suspended medical license.

“A doctor's mission should be to provide the best treatment possible for patients, not exploit them to make money,” Attorney General Kathleen Kane said.

Harika is free on $25,000 bond.

According to a report from the State Medical Board of Ohio, Harika's problems began with a 1997 theft charge to which he pleaded guilty. The report stated that Harika billed Somerset State Hospital and Pennsylvania for medical services he did not provide. In 1999, he was sentenced to four years of probation, ordered to pay $84,609 in restitution to Pennsylvania and provide free treatment to mental health patients during the first two years or his probation.

Ohio suspended Harika's license to practice for at least two years; the Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine suspended his license for two months, fined him $700 and put him on probation.

Board Revokes License for Child Psychologist

In a followup to a long and ongoing case, we have this news item:

The State of Ohio has revoked the medical license of local child psychologist. Doctor Leo D'Souza was indicted by a Hamilton County Grand Jury in February on charges of gross sexual imposition and sexual imposition involving his young patients.

Court documents state the psychiatrist repeatedly fondled one boy in at least six office visits. In another case he is accused of examining an eight-year-old for a sexually transmitted disease. The alleged incidents happened at D'Souza's offices in Milford and Westwood.

The Ohio Medical Board examiner found that Doctor D'Souza failed to conform to minimal standard of care.

See also these earlier stories on this case

• Closed Hearings in Psychiatrist Child Molestation Case
• More Information on Psychiatrist under investigation
• Another man sues psychiatrist over sexual molestation

The Decline of Psychiatry, Part 2

Earlier we reported on the declining numbers of psychiatrists in Indiana. Now we have this report of a similar decline in Ohio:

[...]Trumbull is undergoing a psychiatrist shortage, according to those at Trumbull LifeLifes, the agency considering joining forces with Summa Health System in Akron.

‘‘It’s a perennial challenge here in Trumbull County, all over the state,’’ said James Sager, LifeLifes chief operating officer. ‘‘Finding and keeping psychiatrists is particularly a difficult challenge for us.’’[...]

According to the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, Ohio had 1,019 psychiatrists six years ago, making 31st in the nation in the number of psychiatrists per capita. In comparison, Pennsylvania ranked 11th with 1,753.

[...]

Director of consultation liaison psychiatry at Summa, Tod Ivan, said he believes there is an overall shortage largely because of federal policy.

He said the government — through Medicare — has restricted funding for specialty care, like psychiatry, in favor or primary care. Also, Ivan said, policy regarding managed care makes it hard for psychiatrists to make a living, like for example, a 50 percent co-payment on mental health services through Medicare.

‘‘Nationally, for about 20 years, the numbers have remained flat,’’ he said.

Of course, they try to put a positive face on the report, citing partnership efforts with other population centers. We suspect that there is a larger long term trend that they are not at alll happy about, and that this report is just another pin in the Voodoo Doll of Psychiatry.

Psychiatrist Faces Sex Charges

A Report from Channel 12 in Cincinatti, Ohio

A local psychiatrist faces allegations he had improper sexual relations with underage patients.

A Hamilton County Grand Jury today indicted Leo Dsouza on four counts of gross sexual imposition. Prosecutors say all four victims were minors. The alleged incidents happened between 2001 and October of 2005.

Dsouza is the subject of two civil lawsuits, both filed in 2006. Each claims he inappropriately touched minor male patients under his care. One patient was 12 years old at the time... that case is set to go to trial in March. In the other lawsuit, Dsouza is accused of ordering an 8 year old boy to undress so he could be examined for sexually transmitted diseases. That lawsuit is set to go the trial in April.

Here are links to our earlier reports on this psychiatrist.

• More Information on Psychiatrist under investigation
• Another man sues psychiatrist over sexual molestation

Closed Hearings in Psychiatrist Child Molestation Case

As reported in the Enquirer

Note: This report is not related to the NY State news report regarding gynecologist Dr. Ivan D'Souza on somewhat similar charges with female patients. We have no information on if the two are related in anyway.

A hearing examiner for the Ohio State Medical Board closed a disciplinary hearing Tuesday during an investigation of sexual abuse complaints against a Cincinnati psychiatrist.

Hearing examiner Gretchen Petrucci, referring to the board's administrative rules, cited the "sensitive nature" of testimony as cause to close the hearing to the public.

Sallie J. Debolt, staff attorney with the State Medical Board, said today's hearing will be open - at least when it begins at 9 a.m. in Columbus.

Underage male patients of Dr. Leo D'Souza are expected to testify this week about being inappropriately touched on the genitals. Five boys complained D'Souza, 66, of Clifton, abused them when they were between 12 and 19, sometimes over multiple office visits.

D'Souza has denied any inappropriate conduct. Monday, D'Souza testified that he touched one 16-year-old boy with a towel while examining a penile discharge, and that the patient worried about a possible sexually transmitted disease.

Petrucci closed Tuesday's hearing at the request of the Ohio Attorney General's Office, which is representing the State Medical Board.

Ted Hart, a spokesman for Attorney General Marc Dann, said the hearing examiner has some discretion to close a hearing "to protect compelling interests and rights or to comply with statutory requirements."

Hart said it's likely that the hearing examiner believes testimony from patients would shed light on their identities and/or their medical records. Ultimately, the public transcript of the proceedings will include everything while protecting patient identities, Hart said.

Bruce McIntosh, D'Souza's Cincinnati attorney, initially agreed to closing down part of Tuesday's proceeding "on a limited basis." McIntosh then said the hearings should be completely open.

The State Medical Board is investigating whether D'Souza should lose his medical license for the incidents that allegedly occurred at the Cincinnati Counseling Service between 1998 and 2006.

The accusations against D'Souza also could result in criminal charges.

Eight medical professionals were disciplined for sexual improprieties between 2000 and 2005, according to the State Medical Board.

Parents convicted of caging adopted kids sue social workers, sheriff's deputies

Original reports say that these parents had caged their children based on the advice of a psychiatrist. The private agencies that reviewed the couple’s home life before the adoptions gave them “glowing reports". While there were some interesting discussions, in the end they were found guilty, although the psychiatrist seems to have disappeared.

Now they are filing a lawsuit against the social workers who entered their home to remove the children. This is NOT for giving the parents bad advice or improper direction. Note also that they are not going after the shrink whom they said advised them in this course of action. Snippet from the Columbus Dispatch

A couple convicted of forcing some of their 11 adopted children to sleep in cages have sued county social workers and other officials in federal court, accusing them of illegally entering their home.

Michael and Sharen Gravelle claim in the lawsuit that Huron County social workers and sheriff's deputies violated their constitutional rights when their special-needs children were removed from the home in 2005. The officials had received a tip about children sleeping in cages.

Never mind little facts like the sheriff protecting the children or enforcing the law....

And never mind the destruction apparently wrought by a psychiatrist who handed out bad advice, and who seems to have slipped away into the night....

Youth Suicide Rates Up? Not So Fast

We have previously looked at the 2004 increase in youth suicides, falsely blamed on a decrease of antidepressant prescriptions. Now someone has looked at the numbers in detail:

The headlines read, "Highest increase in youth suicide" and "girls aged 10-14 increased 75%." And of course, the only explanation anyone seems to want to debate is antidepressants: was it too many prescriptions, or too few? And self-righteous indignation all around.

Well, I did something apparently no one else cares to do: I looked up the individual suicides. They are individuals, right? With different reasons for doing things? And guess what? I have another explanation: Ohio.

The year in question is 2004, the most recent year the data is available. I focused on girls aged 10-14, because that's what the majority of the news articles focused on. Most reports described an increase of 75%, from 56-94. I actually found 98 total suicides in this group.

If antidepressants had any effect-- in either direction-- then the increase should have been spread out throughout the country.

Most states had very few suicides in this demographic. Maine had zero. North Carolina had 1. Oregon, 1. Florida, 1. Etc. These small numbers are generally unchanged from 2003. California, which had the one of the highest absolute number of suicides, had 6 in 2003, and 7 in 2004.

If you look at Ohio, however, you see something interesting. In 2003, there were no suicides. In 2004, there were 11.

Indiana was next: 0 in 2003, 6 in 2004.

This, of course, speaks to the problem of medicine’s over-reliance on epidemiology. People are different, and even “matched controls” have such variability that association studies are often nearly useless. This is even more true in psychiatry. Suicide is not an involuntary pathogen, it is a complex, volitional behavior whose causes can only be meaningfully investigated at an individual level.

I have to go back and look closely at all the states' data, etc. But it seems to me that when two small states account for almost half of the entire increase in the suicides, we should stop talking about antidepressants and maybe go find out what the hell happened over there?

Those blessed with an evil wit will point out the preponderance of political advertising in Ohio during that elections year. The more cynical will point to the arrival of Teen Screen on the scene in Ohio at about this time, something that might or might not be relevant.

It's getting so that even a school psychologist is worried about the psych drugs in school

It's getting so that even a school psychologist is worried about the psych drugs in school. Note how zombie robotic behavior is increasingly the desired norm, not bright, intelligent independent thinking kids. Ourselves, we happen to disagree with the general diagnosis of ADHD, believing it to be a case where other conditions are too frequently misdiagnosed - An editorial from the Cincinatti Enquirer

Having spent 10 years in the public school systems as a school psychologist, I am disturbed by the upward trend in the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Even more troubling is the estimated 6 to 10 percent of students who receive stimulant medication as a form of treatment.

ADHD is widely defined as a developmental disability manifested in problems with sustained attention, impulse control and maintaining appropriate levels of activity. To many parents' surprise, there is no specific "test" used to identify who has ADHD and who does not. Furthermore, it is argued by many psychologists that the means and measures used to make the diagnosis are far too vague and subjective.

Many parents seek psychostimulant medication for their children. At a recent luncheon, I overheard a mother openly and enthusiastically discussing her child's long awaited ADHD diagnosis and consequent daily dose of "the magic pill." She was thrilled that her son's teacher reported that he had "completely changed his personality" and just "sits quietly during class" since the medication. Ironically, in the same conversation, this mother was complaining about the horrible drug and alcohol problem in their high school.

There is no quick fix for distractible, disorganized, "free-spirited," at times exasperating children, nor should there be. We need to embrace the differences in our children and not expect all children to sit quietly and listen.

I would argue that all children fall somewhere on the ADHD continuum at different points in their development. Sure, there are some extreme psychiatric cases where Ritalin may be needed, but certainly not for 6 percent of our school-age population. For parents who struggle with children who have high levels of activity and short attention span, there are many ways to help them without Ritalin.

Parents and educators working together in a truly collaborative manner to teach these children will demonstrate not only their strong level of commitment, but the value of perseverance, communication and hard work. These are the problem-solving skills we should be teaching our children. Taking a drug to "fix it," on the other hand, is a dangerous lesson to teach.

State seizes pyschiatrist's records

From the Enquirer in Cincinnati

State investigators are trying to determine whether a Cincinnati psychiatrist improperly billed patients with workers’ compensation claims.

Agents from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation seized records Tuesday from Dr. Kode Murthy’s two offices in Cincinnati and Milford. They also used search warrants to get records from Murthy’s billing specialist.

The search warrants were not made public, but state investigators confirmed they are looking into allegations of “billing irregularities” by Murthy.

Those irregularities could include billing for services the patient did not receive or billing the state for treatments unrelated to workers’ compensation claims.

Joel Demory, agent in charge of the bureau’s special investigations unit, said information gathered Tuesday would help determine the next step, which could include a referral to prosecutors or a decision not to take action against Murthy.

Efforts to reach Murthy Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Demory would not comment on the records seized or on the nature of the allegations against Murthy, other than to say they involved billing. He also would not say how many complaints the bureau received or how many workers’ compensation patients receive treatment from Murthy.

The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation handles claims and oversees treatment of people suffering from job-related injuries.

The bureau’s investigations unit examines allegations of fraud by either the workers or the doctors treating them.

In the past year, the unit conducted almost 3,000 investigations and referred about 300 cases for criminal prosecution, a bureau spokesman said. More than 100 of those referrals resulted in indictments.

The investigation into Murthy also involves the Ohio Department of Insurance, the State Medical Board of Ohio and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

Let kids be kids, without 'magic' pills

Good column from Canton Ohio

Are we overmedicating our kids? Do parents today expect their children to be perfectly behaved adults by age 8, and, if they're not, do we look for a magic pill to make them act the way we want?

Kids who would once have been termed "rambunctious" are now diagnosed with one disorder or another, and in many cases, drugs are prescribed to settle them down.

Does your youngster talk too much? Have trouble concentrating on his school work? Spend too much time thinking about a computer game or TV show and not enough on his homework?

Don't worry. There's a professional somewhere who would be happy to declare your child suffering from some condition, for which, of course, there is a powerful drug to combat it.

TRUE STORY

Consider this:

Six years ago, my daughter was attending a parochial school in a Cleveland suburb. Mary was not doing well. Her grades were abysmal and the principal suggested that she suffered from ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. She urged us to take Mary to a psychologist and get treatment.

So we did.

The psychologist referred us to a psychiatrist, who wanted to place Mary on some hardcore psychotropic drugs.

I wouldn't let her. The "symptoms" that she recited to us - Mary's inability to focus on her schoolwork and her obsession with things of interest to her - seemed to me to be the normal tendency of a child. I felt she just needed to be redirected a bit. A lot of successful people did a lot of daydreaming when they were children, I believe.

So we bid farewell to the shrink and instead transferred Mary to another school - a public school - and an amazing thing happened.

Mary got all "A's" and "B's." And has ever since.

And all without drugs.

AN EPIDEMIC?

In Tuesday's Repository, a story headlined, "Are more kids bipolar? Study points to surge; experts doubt 'epidemic'," revealed that there has been a huge increase in the number of U.S. children diagnosed with bipolar disorder. But, the story went on to say, "experts question whether the surge is real and say some kids have been mislabeled. ... The jump coincided with children's rising use of antipsychotic medicine."

Dr. Mark Olfson of Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute suggests that heavy marketing of psychiatric drugs could have contributed to the surge.

Mike Johnson, CEO of Child and Adolescent Service Center in Canton, which provides mental-health care for children, said that of 100 youngsters preliminarily diagnosed with ADHD for whom medication was urged, only 40 actually had the disorder. The rest were basically ordinary kids acting like, well, kids.

I believe too many parents want an easy way out. Instead of providing discipline in the home, teaching a child right from wrong, taking the time to talk to them and guide them on the right path, we want a pill that will keep them quiet and out of our hair.

And what does all this medication do to these kids when they finally reach their teens?

A frightening question, indeed.

Another Psychiatrist Under Investigation Closes Office

From WKRC TV Local 12 in Cincinatti Ohio

A local psychiatrist shuts down his office while state officials are taking a serious look at the way he does business.

Local 12 has learned that, for the last few weeks, investigators from the Kentucky State Medical Board have been looking at the practices of Covington psychiatrist Dr. Douglas Rank.

Allegations have been made against Rank that he over medicates patients, and it's not the first time he's come up on charges.

Local 12's Rich Jaffe says the sudden closing of Rank's store front operation, has left some of his patients wondering what they don't know about their doctor.

Jerry Black showed up today at 12 West Pike Street in Covington, expecting to see his doctor. What he found was a letter saying the office is closed.

Jerry Black, Patient: "Makes me wonder why it's closed, and he didn't tell anybody, didn't send me a letter...makes me curious what he did wrong you know..."

Until recently, Dr. Douglas Rank operated his psychiatric practice out of this store front. His attorney says he advised him to close the doors, while a number of investigations take their course.

An investigation by the Kentucky State Medical Board is based on complaints by Emily Hill that Rank gave her too many drugs. Hill says, with piles of prescriptions, she was sleeping 18 hours a day.

Emily Hill, Ex-Patient: "He just said, well you need these drugs to function, and I said, Doctor Rank I can't function like this. I feel like I'm on too many drugs and he really just kind of blew it off."

Hill's husband, who worked in Dr. Rank's office, says as soon as another doctor took his wife off her meds, she came out of her zombie-like state.

Robert Hill, Patient's Husband: "She starts coming back, recovering, she starts to be the Emily I used to know, and I thought, well gosh, I've got some problems with this you know."

Douglas Rank has been brought up on charges by the Kentucky Medical Board before. In May of 2000, he admitted to having a sexual relationship with a patient... and in November of that year, his license was restricted because he wrote another patient 57 different prescriptions for controlled substances over a 15 month period. As a result of action in Kentucky, he had his license revoked in the state of New York, and Ohio permanently denied him a license to practice in 2003.

"The letter to Dr. Rank's patients on his door says the office is now closed, in the best interest of the patients, he lists a phone number here and since he wasn't available to talk with us on camera we decided to call that number to see what Rank was telling the people who counted on him."

"The office is closed for business in the best interest of our patients. The doctor will call in enough prescription refills for you to find alternate care."

While Rank didn't want to talk with us, a friend and self professed business partner, who's opening an outreach operation in the old office, says Dr. Rank isn't done in Northern Kentucky.

Dennis Northcutt, Noah's Ark: "He's not going to be working straight up forward with us, but he's going to be pointing me in the right direction of how I should get help for people."

Rich Jaffe, Local 12.

We wanted to interview Dr. Rank about these issues, his attorney advised him to decline. As part of his sanctions in 2001, Dr. Rank agreed to probationary terms that included "abstaining from sex with patients, continuing to receive psychiatric treatment, and participation in the Kentucky Impaired Physicians Program. He was also ordered to use a chaperon in all contacts with female patients.

More Information on Psychiatrist under investigation

From the Cincinatti Post

The State Medical Board of Ohio is looking into whether to revoke or otherwise limit the medical license of a Clifton psychiatrist.

The charges listed against Leo D'Souza, in a letter dated Thursday, allege inappropriate examinations of patients' private parts.

According to the medical board:

• In 1999 or 2000, he allegedly examined a 12- or 13-year-old patient's genitals with ungloved hands seven or eight times, "without appropriate medical indication."
  
  
• In August 2002, he allegedly examined a 12-year-old patient's genitals, purportedly to see if the patient had had sex. The appropriate thing to do would have been to refer the patient to a hospital emergency room.
  
  
• In November 2003, D'Souza allegedly examined a 17-year-old's genitals without gloves on. He also failed to get parental consent for a genital examination.
  
  He also allegedly advised the patient's mother to give some of the patient's medication to the patient's 8-year-old sister, without having first examined the girl.
  
  
• In October 2006, the doctor allegedly examined a 17-year-old's genitals on multiple office visits, without appropriate indications.
  
  
• On December 2006, he examined a 19-year-old patient's genitals with ungloved hands, giving as a reason that he wanted to see if the patient had a sexually transmitted disease.

D'Souza has the right to ask for a hearing in the case, and has 30 days to ask the board for one.

Psychiatrist's license under review

From the Cincinnati Enquirer

The Ohio Medical Board notified Cincinnati child psychiatrist Leo D’Souza on Thursday that it will review his medical license after determining he inappropriately touched five male patients.

The board also determined he improperly told one mother her child could take medication prescribed for another child and he failed to seek medical help for a patient.

The allegations are detailed in a three-page letter to D’Souza posted on the Ohio Medical Board’s Web site.

The letter said the board “intends to determine whether or not to limit, revoke, permanently revoke, suspend, refuse to register or reinstate your certificate to practice medicine and surgery or to reprimand you or place you on probation.”

D’Souza has 30 days to request a hearing.

Efforts to reach D’Souza on Thursday were unsuccessful. He has not been criminally charged.

This is not the first time D’Souza has come under fire.

Two 19-year-olds separately sued D’Souza in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court last winter, accusing him of sexually molesting them.

D’Souza’s employer, Cincinnati Counseling Service, is also named in the suits that seek at least $25,000 in damages. Those cases are pending.

A third 19-year-old man who says D’Souza sexually molested him in 2003 settled out of court with him for $7,500 in 2005, according to Hamilton County Probate Court records.

“My clients and I are gratified that the Ohio State Medical Board has taken action. It’s just a shame that these people had to suffer,” said Mike Allen, who along with Nicholas Bunch, is representing the men in the pending cases. “We intend to aggressively pursue the civil actions that we have filed against Dr. D’Souza.”

The allegations outlined in Thursday’s letter happened from 1998 to 2006 and involve two, 12 year olds, a 19 year old, a 16 year old and a 17 year old. The males are not named in the letter.

After outlining the inappropriate touching, the letter says D’Souza failed to conform to the minimal standard of care for psychiatrists, violated the American Medical Association’s code of ethics, and said that his actions in three instances could be considered the misdemeanor crime sexual imposition.

State of Ohio puts Cleveland Psychiatric Unit on probation in rape probe

From the Akron Beacon Journal

The state has placed the inpatient psychiatric unit of University Hospitals of Cleveland on probation following allegations of two rapes and two sexual assaults against patients on the same day, the Ohio Department of Mental Health said Friday.

The allegations against an outside agency employee were turned over to police for investigation and a suspect was taken into police custody, according to the probation letter sent to University Hospitals. The attacks against four patients are alleged to have occurred May 11.

The state warned University Hospitals that it must make changes to provide a safe environment for patients.

Probation won't prevent the unit from admitting patients, state agency spokeswoman Laura Wentz said.

University Hospitals said it was proud of its care in the psychiatric unit, which it said would be moved soon to renovated facilities.

Loree Vick, spokeswoman for University Hospitals, said she could not provide details on the alleged attacks or the suspect.

University Hospitals also was ordered to repair rusted shower-room ceilings and vents.

Update: Psychiatrist License revoked due to Sexual Misconduct

As seen in this report

The state medical board revoked the medical license of local psychiatrist Dr. Arthur R. Schramm Wednesday on charges of professional misconduct and neglect.

The revocation is permanent and goes into effect when the order is mailed to Schramm this week, said Joan Wehrle, spokeswoman for the State Medical Board of Ohio.

Among several charges involving three patients, two of them dancers from local strip clubs, the board found Schramm, 68, took sexually suggestive photos of two patients; he prescribed painkillers and other drugs to patients that were addicted to heroin, marijuana and alcohol; he didn't keep records of the prescriptions, and he failed to properly treat the women for various mental and physical ailments.

Schramm, a specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry with no previous troubles with the medical board, could not be reached for comment.

His attorney, Todd Morman, also could not be reached for comment. But he said on Monday that Schramm had "made some mistakes" and the board was overreacting in seeking to revoke his license.

Schramm, semi-retired, has practiced in Dayton for nearly 40 years, many of those at St. Elizabeth Hospital leading its psychiatry department and detoxification program, according to his testimony in a board report. He later worked for Kettering Medical Center in various roles that included directing the juvenile sexual offenders program.

Acting on a complaint, a board investigation found Schramm entered into doctor-patient relationships with two strippers in 2004 after establishing personal relationships that included lap dances, taking sexually suggestive photos and hiring one for help at his Brookville home and for clerical duties in his office at 130 W. Second St. in Dayton.

Shock treatment sought for autistic man

As seen in the Ledger Enquirer and on CBS News

Bradley Bernstein's parents say an electric cattle prod is the only thing that stops him from banging his head and violently punching his eyes, nearly blinding himself.

The Illinois couple's fight to continue shock treatment on their severely autistic 48-year-old son and the uproar over a Massachusetts school that uses similar treatment, have pulled back the curtain on this extreme form of behavior modification. Critics call it outmoded, barbaric and unethical.

Even a leading supporter of the technique, Harvard-educated psychologist Matthew Israel, acknowledges, "The natural reaction is to be horrified."

"It always has been very controversial and is not politically correct, and if you want to advance your career, you try to stay away from it," said Israel, founder and director of the Judge Rotenberg Center, a residential school in Canton, Mass. The institution houses children and adults with autism, mental retardation and other behavioral and psychiatric disorders.

The school is under legislative and regulatory scrutiny for routinely using skin shocks on about half its 230 students to stop serious behavior problems, including self-injury.

Electric shocks and other painful or unpleasant treatments known as "aversive conditioning" were accepted more a generation ago. But mainstream psychiatry relies on new drugs and other methods that have proven effective.

Using this form of shock therapy is "cruel and unusual punishment," said Dr. Louis Kraus, an associate professor of psychiatry at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center. "The concept of doing that is frightening."

Some states, including Illinois last year, have banned or severely restricted use of electric shocks in mental health treatment.

But Israel favors the technique over psychiatric drugs that he says make students too drowsy to learn and says most critics "have never seen children who have blinded themselves, or banged their head to the point of brain injury, or bit a hole in their cheek."

Israel developed a device he calls a graduated electronic decelerator. It's carried in backpacks students at his school wear, and elicits shocks through electrodes strapped on their arms and legs.

"The beauty of it is there's no side effects," Israel said. "It's a temporary painful experience for two seconds."

His school's techniques are the subject of a bill pending in the Massachusetts Legislature and complaints including a lawsuit by a New York mother who says the shocks traumatized her now 18-year-old son.

The device used on Bradley Bernstein is a cattle prod. It used to be a long electrified rod, but the newer model is a handheld shocker about the size of a portable phone, with two short metal prongs.

Fran Bernstein, his mother, says it delivers a shock about as painful as a bee sting. Critics say it's considerably stronger, akin to sticking a finger in an electric socket.

Often just seeing the device was enough to make Bradley stop hurting himself, Mrs. Bernstein said.

Bradley Bernstein only says a few words and sometimes hurts himself in frustration or opposition to his caretakers' demands, his mother said. He is allergic to several drugs that could calm his behavior, she said.

The Bernsteins are fighting a Cook County judge's March 2 ruling that said Bradley's shock treatment violates an amendment to state law passed last May.

"Now we're not going to be able to control him and we don't know what's going to happen," said Mrs. Bernstein, of suburban Lincolnshire, Ill.

A therapist recommended the shocks when Bradley was a boy and he got the treatment routinely in group homes where he lived until the state law was enacted last year, his mother said.

Specialists at Trinity Services Inc., which took over the agency that used to care for Bradley, oppose shock treatment and helped change the law so it and other painful techniques are banned from group homes.

"This is something that our professional staff doesn't believe is ethical," said Trinity's president, Art Dykstra.

Bradley Bernstein is the only group home patient in Illinois known to have received shock treatment in recent years. His parents agreed to a compromise to gradually stop the treatment, but sued when Trinity officials abruptly stopped it after the law changed, according to the their attorney, Robert O'Donnell.

The judge's recent ruling said the change in Illinois law makes the Bernsteins' complaint moot. O'Donnell is appealing and has enlisted Matthew Israel to help evaluate Bradley and determine whether his shock treatment should resume.[...]

Trinity officials dispute the Bernsteins' claim that their son's behavior has grown worse without the shocks. [...]

Psychiatrist accused of misconduct - Arthur Schramm's license at risk due to alleged sex photos of patients, more.

As seen in the Dayton Daily News

A longtime local psychiatrist could lose his medical license Wednesday on allegations he took sexually suggestive photos of patients, prescribed painkillers to an admitted heroin addict and committed other acts of "professional misconduct and neglect."

The case before the State Medical Board of Ohio surrounding Dr. Arthur R. Schramm, 68, involves three patients, at least two of them exotic dancers he befriended at local strip clubs, according to medical board records.

Acting on a complaint, a board investigation found Schramm entered into doctor-patient relationships with the two dancers in 2004 after establishing personal relationships that included lap dances, taking sexually suggestive photos of the women and hiring one for help at his Brookville home and for clerical duties in his office at 130 W. Second St. in Dayton.

The board also says Schramm:

• Continued to hire at least one of the dancers for lap dances after he became her doctor.

• Prescribed painkillers and other drugs that could have triggered a relapse or worsened the addictions of drug-addicted patients.

• Failed to properly treat the patients for various mental and physical maladies.

• Failed to report one household to Children's Services despite an 8-month-old boy living there with parents who were addicted to heroin and cocaine.

"The hearing examiner has proposed permanent revocation of Dr. Schramm's license," medical board spokeswoman Joan Wehrle said.

Schramm, a specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry, could not be reached for comment. He has practiced in Dayton for nearly 40 years with no previous trouble with the medical board.

"Dr. Schramm has made some mistakes recently and the state is overreacting in seeking to permanently revoke his medical license," his attorney, Todd Morman, said.

According to the medical board's report, Schramm is semi-retired, holds no hospital staff privileges and sees about 1,400 patients a year. In 2003, prior to meeting the dancers, he experienced a stroke, hip replacement and the death of his wife.

"I felt that I was able to keep a close eye on what was happening between me and the patient, and a few things went further than they should, I think," he told board officials.

Another man sues psychiatrist over sexual molestation

As seen here

A second 19-year-old man is suing Cincinnati child psychiatrist Dr. Leo D'Souza, accusing the doctor of sexually molesting him.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court by a man who says D'Souza sexually molested him during an office visit earlier this month.

Another 19-year-old man filed a similar lawsuit Dec. 11 in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, alleging that D'Souza sexually molested him during a doctor's visit when he was a minor. That case is pending.

D'Souza and his employer, Cincinnati Counseling Service, are named in the suit that seeks damages in excess of $25,000.

The lawsuits are not the first allegation of abuse against the doctor.

A third 19-year-old man who says he was sexually molested by D'Souza in 2003 settled out of court with him for $7,500 in 2005, according to Hamilton County Probate Court records.

"Since the filing of the initial complaint and the coverage it received in the media, we have received a number of calls from other potential victims," said attorney Mike Allen, who represents both men, but did not represent the man who settled out of court. "We are in the process of interviewing them and referring them to the appropriate law-enforcement agencies.

"The number of people who have come forward leads one to be concerned about how extensive the abuse may be."

D'Souza, who was working Thursday in the center's Colerain Township office, did not return a call for comment. No attorney is listed in court records.

Cincinnati Counseling Service owner Robert Ford was not in Thursday. A message left for him was not returned.

D'Souza has not been criminally charged. Complaints about doctors to the Ohio Medical Board are not public until substantiated. The parents of the 19-year-old man who filed the Dec. 11 lawsuit have filed a complaint with the medical board about D'Souza, Allen said.

In the lawsuit filed Thursday, the man says D'Souza fondled him during an office visit this month. After listening to the man's heart with a stethoscope and pushing on his abdomen, D'Souza told the man to drop his pants and underwear and then fondled him under the guise of an exam, according to the lawsuit.

The suit makes a claim of sexual battery against D'Souza and a claim of negligence against Cincinnati Counseling Service Inc., the doctor's employer.

In the Dec. 11 lawsuit, the man said the abuse started in 1999 or 2000 and ended in December 2005.

D'Souza was treating the man at the counseling center's Westwood office for bipolar disorder, depression and other related conditions.

In the lawsuit, the man said he was 12 or 13 when D'Souza began to include a "physical examination" during office visits. During those exams, which occurred at least six times, D'Souza fondled the man, the lawsuit says.

The suit makes a claim for child abuse and medical malpractice against D'Souza. The man is also suing Cincinnati Counseling Service for negligence.

The abuse in the 2003 case is alleged in a letter filed in Hamilton County Probate Court to D'Souza from the victim's attorney dated Jan. 4, 2005.

D'Souza is accused of sexually molesting a 16-year-old boy during an initial consultation for treatment of a bipolar disorder.

D'Souza coerced the teenager to see him alone, despite initial requests that his mother be present, according to the letter. Once alone, D'Souza ordered the boy to undress and then fondled the boy's genitals, according to the letter.

A complaint was made to the Ohio Medical Board, according to the letter.

The letter offered to drop the claim in exchange for $15,000. It gave D'Souza 10 days to respond, or a lawsuit would be filed in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.

The case was settled for $7,500 on Oct. 19, 2005, according to probate court records.

Couple Guilty of Abuse For Caging Foster Kids

As seen earlier, they had done this on the advice of a psychologist. Here's the story as seen on ABC

A couple accused of caging some of their 11 adopted special-needs children were convicted of some felony and misdemeanor charges today.

The jury began its deliberations Tuesday. Sharen and Michael Gravelle were charged with eight counts each of felony child endangering, misdemeanor child abuse and misdemeanor child endangering. The endangering charges accused the couple of putting the children at a substantial risk of mental health impairment.

Defense attorneys described the couple as working under difficult circumstances to provide a loving family environment. "They loved their children," said Richard Drucker, an attorney for Michael Gravelle.

But Huron County Prosecutor Russell Leffler argued that having difficult children "doesn't mean you put children in cages or boxes."

"They were cruel to children," Leffler said. "The Gravelles aren't good parents. They never have been."

The children, who had problems such as fetal alcohol syndrome and a disorder that involves eating items that are not food, ranged in age from 1 to 14 when authorities removed them in September 2005 from the Gravelle home in rural Wakeman, about 60 miles west of Cleveland. The youngsters were placed in foster care last fall, and the couple lost custody in March.

The case began when a county social worker visited the home after a complaint and likened the red and blue cages to kennels. In the trial, that social worker testified that the cages reminded her of slave quarters.

Ken Myers, an attorney for Sharen Gravelle, said wire and wooden enclosures were used because of intolerable behavior by the children. The behavior improved after the enclosures were used, Myers said.

"They were urinating and defecating all over the house," he said.

Sharen Gravelle shook her head as the prosecutor spoke. Michael Gravelle leaned back holding his chin in his hand.

The Gravelles, who lost custody of the children in March, face one to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000 for each felony count.

Psychologist Defends Caging of Special Needs Children

More on the sad case of the Gravelle children

A psychologist testifying for Michael and Sharen Gravelle said on Thursday that the enclosed beds were appropriate for their adopted special-needs children.

"It can restrain their behavior," Sandra McPherson testified. "It would be the least restrictive alternative."

However, she said on cross-examination that the enclosed beds might have harmed the children if they were used for discipline.

"They could have been counterproductive to the development of the kids," she said.

The Gravelles are on trial in Huron County Common Pleas Court, each charged with 16 counts of felony child endangering and eight misdemeanor child endangering charges. Prosecutors accuse the couple of keeping some of their 11 special-needs children in enclosed beds, which they have characterized as cages.

The couple said they enclosed some of the beds to protect the youngsters from their own destructive behavior. They have denied mistreating the children.

The Cleveland Heights psychologist criticized investigators and social workers who questioned the children after they were removed from the Gravelle home in September 2005. The children's answers may have been tainted because the same questions were asked numerous times, McPherson said.

McPherson also said the agencies that placed the children in the home were to blame for the children's problems.

"The outcome may have been different if they were placed in smaller families," she said.

The Gravelles' private social worker, Elaine Thompson, was not called to testify because she awaits trial in February in connection with the case. She faces 32 charges of complicity to commit child endangering and failure to report abuse.

Thompson's attorney, Marilu Laubenthal, spent about three hours reading a transcript of testimony given by Thompson during a custody hearing in December.

Thompson said the Gravelles explained that the enclosed beds were meant to provide a safe nighttime environment for the children.

The children's behavior improved with use of the cages, Thompson said.

"It took about two years," she said.

Common Pleas Judge Earl McGimpsey told jurors testimony will finish early today, and deliberations will begin on Tuesday.