When the editors of The New England Journal of Medicine consider a topic to be one in which the public has a strong interest, they provide a free, full text.

This is one of them. This special report shows that if health care fraud and abuse is to be detected because people who have information come forward, the system is not working.

It discourages rather than encourages whistle-blowers to come forward, concludes the article.

The professional and personal costs these individuals face is staggering.

See it for yourself.

Read a New York Times story, by Kevin Sack, who reported on the outcome of a trial in which one nurse whistle-blower had been criminally charged for misuse of government information, a felony. The American Nursing Association said no nurse in the U.S. had ever faced charges like these. The nurse was acquitted. Another nurse, also charged at the same time, did not face trial as the charges against her were removed shortly before the trial.

Medpage Today

“Whistle-blowers in the healthcare industry endure substantial hardship and often pay a high personal price for cooperating with Justice Department investigations, according to a report based on detailed interviews with more than two dozen informants.

“Loss of employment, financial ruin, divorce, and a host of mental and physical health problems were common consequences of individuals’ decisions to report corporate fraud. (Emphasis added)

“Cases can drag on for years before reaching a resolution, often leaving whistle-blowers in the lurch with little or no support from the legal system, Aaron S. Kesselheim, MD, JD, and co-authors wrote in a report in the May 13 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

“Whistle-blowers receive a share of financial recoveries resulting from prosecutions and settlements, which exceeded $9 billion from 1996 through 2005. However, many informants, or “relators,” felt their remuneration did not match their sacrifices.

“As currently structured and followed, the process could discourage whistle-blowers from coming forward.”

Source: Medpage Today, May 12, 2010

Citation: New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 362: 1832-1839, May 13, 2010, Number 19