Healers or criminals: the alarming trend of physician prosecution

episode

The Podcast by KevinMD not yet transcribed

▲ 0

Transcript

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet Upvotes decide what gets transcribed next — 0 so far. Sign in to upvote

More from The Podcast by KevinMD

Understanding the unseen role of back-to-school diagnostics 15 min · 20 Dec 2025

All episodes from The Podcast by KevinMD →

Report any issue

Source

Recorded20 Apr 2025

Publisherkevinmd.libsyn.com ↗

Handlerec:6196109

Show notes

Practicing internist and psychiatrist Muhamad Aly Rifai discusses his article "Criminalizing care: How the system turned on physicians." He argues that physicians, historically pillars of trust, are increasingly being targeted and criminalized under regulations like the Controlled Substances Act and health care fraud statutes. Muhamad details several cases, including those of Drs. Sachy, Kousa, and Anand, as well as his own acquittal on federal fraud charges, to illustrate how medical judgment and complex patient care are being conflated with criminal activity. He critiques the tactics used, such as aggressive federal investigations, flawed audits, data manipulation in PDMPs, inflammatory press releases ("dirty doctors"), and a perceived erosion of the presumption of innocence, noting that only 0.4 percent of federal defendants are found not guilty. Muhamad highlights the devastating personal and professional consequences for physicians and the disruption to patient care, calling for urgent reforms including clearer guidelines, prosecutorial accountability, DEA process reform, and equal application of due process to end the war on healers. Our presenting sponsor is Microsoft Dragon Copilot. Microsoft Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow, is transforming how clinicians work. Now you can streamline and customize documentation, surface information right at the point of care, and automate tasks with just a click. Part of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, Dragon Copilot offers an extensible AI workspace and a single, integrated platform to help unlock new levels of efficiency. Plus, it's backed by a proven track record and decades of clinical expertise—and it's built on a foundation of trust. It's time to ease your administrative burdens and stay focused on what matters most with Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow. VISIT SPONSOR → https://aka.ms/kevinmd SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast RECOMMENDED BY KEVINMD → https://www.kevinmd.com/recommended

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.