Madigan Cardiologist Sentenced For Accepting Illegal Funds

Maj. Jason L. Davis, a cardiologist in the U.S. Army, was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to a $7,986 fine and $4,812 in restitution for accepting funds from an illegal source while performing his duties as a  physician in the Army.

At the time, Davis was chief of the Cardiology Department at Madigan Army Medical Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Between April and October 2007, in addition to his salary from the Army, Davis accepted nearly $5,000 from Guidant Sales  Corporation, a subsidiary of Boston Scientific, a medical device manufacturer.

In October 2010, Guidant Sales Corporation paid $600,000 to the United States to  settle claims that it illegally provided similar payments, meals and gratuities to Davis so that he would use the company’s medical devices in cardiac procedures he performed and use his influence with other physicians practicing at Madigan so they would use the company’s devices as well.  

In ordering the fine, Magistrate Judge Richard Creatura said it represented every meal, every bottle of wine, everything of value Davis accepted from Guidant.

“Paying these amounts and the public shame of the criminal conviction are  adequate punishment,” Creatura said.  

According to the plea agreement signed in January, Davis began working at Madigan in 2004. He became chief of Cardiology in late 2008. In the civil  settlement with the government, Guidant Sales Corporation settled claims that between January 2006 and February 2009, the company provided Davis with meals, payments and other gratuities to encourage him to use devices manufactured by  Boston Scientific for cardiac surgeries at Madigan.

During this period of time, Davis almost exclusively used Boston Scientific’s pacemakers and implantable defibrillators.

Davis admitted accepting $4,812 in payments for “training” from Guidant Sales Corporation/Boston Scientific sales representatives who observed seven of his surgeries. In fact, however, as Davis admitted, other Guidant/Boston Scientific employees conducted the training while he performed the surgery.

Davis never sought approval to use the surgeries for training purposes and never received permission to engage in this employment or accept these payments from the company.

This is one of the first cases in the country where both the company and the physician accepting illegal benefits have been sanctioned. 

In their sentencing memo, prosecutors noted, “There is no question but that Dr. Davis committed a criminal  offense, and that he should have known better, but there is also no doubt that  those who plied him with food, alcohol, money and other courtesies knew exactly what they were doing, and why they were doing it. … It was thus perfectly appropriate to charge Dr. Davis with a crime in this case.  Dr. Davis knew  enough to recognize that he should have refused the meals, gifts, and ultimately  the payments offered by Boston Scientific. “

Creatura found that “no patient’s health was compromised,” by Davis, who is currently scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan. 

“Our military needs all medical resources it can get in a time of war, and it is the desire of this court that you continue to serve our country,” he said.