Jul. 5–Dr. Joseph Oesterling , a once-leading urologist who resigned in disgrace in 1997 from a top job at the University of Michigan over expense-account abuses, faces new professional misconduct charges.
Oesterling, 49, will have a July 12 compliance conference with the state Board of Medicine to try to negotiate a settlement over four counts of negligence, four counts of incompetence and one count of lack of good moral character.
The Michigan Attorney General’s Office filed the charges with the Michigan Department of Community Health, the administrative arm of the state Board of Medicine.
In the charges, Oesterling is accused of failing to properly treat urological problems in four patients — identified only by their initials — at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Saginaw, where he is on staff.
Oesterling allegedly mishandled urological conditions in two men, causing each to lose a kidney, according to the complaint. In the other cases, Oesterling is accused of damaging bladder and reproductive organs in two women during surgery.
Possible penalties range from probation to suspension or revocation of his license. If a settlement can’t be reached, a public hearing will be scheduled at which patients might testify, said Ray Garza, Freedom of Information Act officer with Michigan’s Bureau of Health Professions.
Oesterling’s attorney, Michael Schwartz, denied the charges and said the doctor will not comment on the cases.
Jill Goodell, hospital spokeswoman, said Oesterling’s status at St. Mary’s is part of a peer review process and is confidential.
Throughout June, Oesterling has been on and off the members list of the medical staff on the hospital’s Web site, www.saintmarys-saginaw.org.
Oesterling was not on the list Monday.
Oesterling rose to the top of his profession by age 38, when he was named chair of urology at the University of Michigan Medical Center in 1994.
He also was the top editor of Urology, a leading journal in the field.
But in 1997, he resigned from U-M after pleading guilty to a felony of expense -account fraud in a case that gained international attention as an example of physician conflict-of-interest issues.
Oesterling was sentenced by Washtenaw County Circuit Judge Melinda Morris to a year s of probation and community service, his medical license was suspended, and he was placed on two year s of probation by the state Board of Medicine.
A U-M investigation showed Oesterling accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from more than a dozen companies; that he failed to report that income to U-M , and that he double- and triple-billed the university, urology groups and the companies for expenses.
He said at the time that he put the money into several for-profit and nonprofit companies he established for prostate cancer research.
But a 1997 Free Press investigation found that Oesterling put some of the money into his personal banking account and that there was no accountability to establish that the rest of the money went to prostate cancer activities.
Oesterling reimbursed U-M for $105,000 after his conviction.
The following year, t he American Board of Urology revoked his board certification and he resigned as editor of Urology. He moved his practice to Saginaw, where he obtained hospital privileges from St. Mary’s.
In 2000, Oesterling was reprimanded by the state Board of Medicine for misrepresenting results of a study for a company, VidaMed Inc., that funded his research and in which he owned stock, according to state records.
As part of a consent agreement, the state dropped charges that he lied to eight prostate cancer patients about their prognoses after Oesterling agreed not to misrepresent patient prognoses anymore. He also was ordered not to conduct clinical trials for five years, engage only in supervised research for the following five years and ” play no role with respect to the financial aspects of any clinical research trials.”
Lawyer claims smear campaign
Schwartz said the previous disciplinary actions in 1997 and 2000 did not involve patient care issues or result in findings of medical misconduct. The current charges are part of a campaign to discredit Oesterling, he said.
“We have other urologists saying what he did was within the standard of care and constitutes neither malpractice or misconduct,” Schwartz said. “There has been a campaign by particular individuals to cause harm to Dr. Oesterling’s career. … Dr. Oesterling is a man who has a history of excellent work.”
Some of the charges in the state complaint involve several of Oesterling’s patients who have also filed medical malpractice suits currently pending in Saginaw County Circuit Court, according to court records.
Oesterling currently works out of the Midwest Prostate and Urological Institute, with a main office in Saginaw and satellite offices in Frankenmuth, Mt. Pleasant and West Branch, according to the institute’s Web site, www.mpui.org.
To check disciplinary records on Oesterling and other health care providers, visit the Michigan Department of Community Health’s Web site, www.cis.state.mi.us/free/default.asp.
By Maryanne George and Patricia Anstett
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