> A federal appeals court upheld a conviction of cardiologist Mehmood Patel, who was found guilty of performing unnecessary heart procedures on 74 different patients at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center and Lafayette (La.) General Medical Center, The Independent Weekly reported. Article
> Montana Interventional and Diagnostic Radiology Specialists filed suit against St. Peter's Hospital in Helena, Mont., alleging that it abused "monopoly power" by not letting the radiology group have privileges at the hospital, according to the Independent Record. Article
> Former U.S. Senator and chairman of President Barack Obama's fiscal commission Alan Simpson said the country's current path of debt, deficit and interest is "totally unsustainable," particularly pointing to escalating Medicare costs. His new plan, issued in conjunction with Erskine Bowles, former chief of staff for President Bill Clinton, calls for a series of spending cuts and tax increases to balance the budget, Bloomberg reported. Article
> Miami-area patient broker Jean-Luc Veraguas for American Therapeutic Corporation (ATC), which operated purported partial hospitalization programs, was sentenced yesterday to 18 months in prison for recruiting Medicare beneficiaries as part of a $200 million Medicare fraud scheme. Announcement
> The New Mexico Court of Appeals last week upheld restrictions on drugs and other substances that can be prescribed and administered by doctors of Oriental medicine, the Associated Press reported. Article
And Finally… So "Madagascar" was based on true events? Article