Personal Injury Law

Real Pilot, Phony Doctor Fools Medical Community

By Jamie G. Goldstein

In an incident reminiscent of the Hollywood movie Catch Me if You Can about real-life con artist Frank Abagnale Jr., a commercial airline pilot posed as a cardiologist for almost two decades. 58-year-old William Hamman was granted millions of dollars in grants, research money, and hospital salaries. Hamman never actually practiced on any patients, but the American College of Cardiology paid him a $250,000 contract to train doctors to communicate with each other in emergency situations. His pilot credentials are not in question, but how was a fake doctor able to fool so many prestigious medical organizations for so long?

Hamman was revealed as a fraud after a routine background check performed by a Michigan hospital uncovered he did not have a medical degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the six year residency requirement, or the 15 years of clinical experience he claimed to have completed. He had attended medical school for a few years but dropped out before receiving his doctor of medicine. Those who worked with Hamman are stunned but in hindsight many of his training sessions included simplistic advice that was not medically salient such as how to improve communication with other team members. Doctors who attended his training sessions will not have their accreditation revoked.

Hamman's outing begs the question, how many other fake doctors are there out there? If the American Medical Association is not performing proper background checks then who is? Dr. Leonard Fleck, a medical ethicist at Michigan State University says there's 'no excuse' for hospitals not checking physician credentials. Some research agencies check criminal backgrounds but not credentials. Hopefully this incident will lead hospitals and medical agencies to raise the bar when it comes to making sure doctors are who they say they are.

Full post as published by Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer on December 27, 2010 (boomark / email).