Medical imaging company Heart Check America, which has been forced to shut down its Colorado clinics, has been ordered to pay $3.2 million by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for conducting CT scans without state-licensed doctor referrals. It is the largest fine ever imposed by the radiation program division in the state's history.
According to the Associated Press, the company's website also shut down today.
“Heart Check America was exposing approximately 150 customers per week to potentially unnecessary radiation doses without a doctor’s involvement,” Brian Vamvakias, X-ray Certification Unit leader said in a statement issued earlier today. “These exams can provide important diagnostic information to a medical professional, and are necessary in many instances to determine the presence or extent of a disease. But patients should submit to X-ray and CT exams on the recommendation of their doctor, not on the advice of a salesman.”
The company was reportedly conducting body scans on about 150 people a week before it closed in May pending the state's investigation. Scans were allegedly done without a doctor's order, and were not read by a radiologist. It also runs or previously ran clinics in Nevada, Illinois, New York, South Carolina, California and Washington D.C.
Heart Check came under scrutiny after the Colorado Department of Health contacted walk-in screening clinics to say that updated compliance regulations were going into effect.
Nevada authorities notified Colorado health officials that Heart Check was under investigation in that state for similar violations, and that moved them to the top of the compliance list, [Manager of the Colorado Department of Health's hazardous material division Warren] Smith said.
Four people are named for nine penalty violations, including Heart Check America owner David W. Haddad, who is not a licensed physician in Colorado. The company has also been sued by the state of Illinois for using sales tactics to issue imaging contracts worth thousands of dollars.