Yes, we know. We even expect the comments, “Well, the vast majority of dental professionals would never act this way.” And we get that, but we would also add, but many more than you might think, do act this way – or at least a variation of this behavior. It’s not limited to dentistry.
Recently a friend of ours went to a medical professional for an orthopedic problem. He got on the table, the professional walked in, looked at his leg, and laughed.
The point is, that unless ethical lessons, many of which are learned way back in school are reinforced, we get professionals who wind up like Seth Lookhart.
The Hoverboard
Dentist Seth Lookhart began his rapid descent into infamy by being filmed in 2016 simultaneously extracting the tooth of a sedated patient while riding around the office on a hoverboard. The video was a joke until it was shown to a patient who said: “I obviously wouldn’t have approved that. That’s dangerous. I would’ve said ‘hell no!’ No, that’s unprofessional.”
And she’s right. No patient in their right mind would have approved of it. The complaints against his behavior led to a much deeper investigation. As part of the investigation, it was found that the patient’s son was even illegally sedated for a routine dental cleaning!
Lookhart and his practice, Lookhart Dental LLC (Clear Creek Dental, Anchorage, Alaska), now faces convictions based on 46 counts of federal and misdemeanor charges that led to defrauding Alaska’s Medicaid programs. Included in the charges are unnecessarily sedating patients, reckless endangerment and illegally treating patients.
According to court documents, Anchorage Superior Court Judge Michael Wolverton said the evidence against Lookhart to “simply overwhelming.” Added to the initial 46 counts against him, Lookhart was convicted of 40 criminal counts. His office manager, also pleaded guilty to medical assistance fraud.
Lookhart hardly needed the money his cut in the highly lucrative practice was $240,000 annually, or 30 percent of the proceeds of the practice. But he was much more ambitious than that.
The IV Game
As part of normal dental practice, anesthesia (Novocain) may be offered. Lookhart convinced scores of patients to have sedation by IV. This became quite lucrative him and in fact, in 2016 alone, it was found that “his practice … accounted for 31 percent of all Medicaid payments for IV sedation in the state.” In fact, in 2015, Medicaid forked over nearly $2 million to his practice for IV sedation. He was even unethical toward his partners. He allegedly billed Medicaid under “different provider identification.” Payments were sent to his home, not the office, so his dental partners had no idea what was going on.
I should add that IV sedation is not without its dangers. Medical and/or dental professionals will readily admit that. IV sedation should not be done as a matter of course but as a necessary procedure. He had no compunction against playing with lives.
The consequences of his actions could include 10 years in jail, heavy fines and patient restitution. My supposition is that he could also lose his dental license.
How could he rationalize his behavior? In light of his lack of ethics, he saw his patients as nothing more than indigent, infirm or elderly money machines. He saw Medicaid as a huge pool of taxpayer money and his in-office antics, with and without hoverboards, as a game where he played with everyone’s trust (including his partners).
Lookhart realized he had no oversite. Who would judge him? Apparently, no one. Except, of course, ethics. Who taught him? Who reinforced his ethical training? No one. He is only lucky in one regard: he didn’t kill anyone. However, he did destroy trust and maybe that’s enough.
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