Patients unable to access records after Ohio medical center closes for fraud

Ohio Institute of Cardiac Care patients have been unable to access their medical records after Dr. Sam Dahdah, the owner of the Springfield-based facility, was indicted on federal charges of healthcare fraud and shut down the practice in 2017, Springfield News-Sun reports.

Dr. Dahdah died May 24, and his wife, Cindy Dahdah, who owned a medical billing company, was sentenced July 15 to five years in prison for her role in the healthcare scheme, according to the report.

Since the clinic closed, Dr. Dahdah's former patients have been unable to access their medical records. Karen Roberts and her husband, both patients of Dr. Dahdah's, told the publication they have been unable to track down their records.

"We just can't get them," Ms. Roberts said. "We left messages at [Dr. Dahdah's] office. We just don’t know what to do."

The Springfiled News-Sun launched an investigation into the missing medical records after receiving calls from the institute's former patients. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Addeldt, who prosecuted Dr. Dahdah and Mrs. Dahdah, told the publication his office does not have the medical records and that the files were under the possession of Mrs. Dahdah, who was storing them in a warehouse, according the report.

Mrs. Dahdah's legal representation has not returned the publication's requests for comment, according to the report.

Dr. and Mrs. Dahdah pleaded guilty in October 2018 to conspiracy to commit and committing healthcare fraud as well as making false statements related to healthcare matters. The duo would allegedly list a patient's last seen physician as a referral for invasive and unnecessary cardiac procedures. The Dahdahs caused more than 2,000 fraudulent claims to be submitted to Medicare, Ohio Medicaid and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield for an estimated $2 million, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the report states.

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