Alaska physician sentenced in $12.5M fraud scheme involving fake treatments; early menopause linked to higher heart attack risk; AI tool flags risk of intimate partner violence years in advance – Morning Medical Update

Alaska physician sentenced in $12.5M fraud scheme involving fake treatments

An Anchorage rheumatologist has been sentenced to 6.5 years in prison for orchestrating a 15-year, $12.5 million health care fraud scheme that involved administering improper or expired medications to patients while billing insurers for drugs that were never purchased.

Prosecutors said Claribel Tan, 61, and her husband, Daniel Tan, 70, who managed the clinic since its inception in 2005, deceived patients over a 15-year period from 2009 through 2024, by using free samples, expired drugs and substitute medications, while submitting thousands of fraudulent claims and inflating treatment records. The couple also evaded more than $4 million in taxes by falsifying business expenses and failing to file returns. Authorities said the scheme not only defrauded insurers but also posed significant health risks to patients; Tan has surrendered her medical license, and more than $10 million in illicit proceeds have already been seized.

Early menopause linked to higher heart attack risk

Women who experience menopause before age 40 face a significantly higher lifetime risk of heart attacks, according to a new study published in JAMA Cardiology. Researchers found that premature menopause is associated with an approximately 40% increase in both fatal and nonfatal heart attacks, highlighting the importance of factoring reproductive history into cardiovascular risk assessments. The study also found racial disparities, with Black women nearly three times as likely as White women to report early menopause and facing a higher baseline risk of heart disease overall. Experts say the transition to menopause can accelerate metabolic changes, including higher blood pressure, cholesterol and body fat, underscoring the need for earlier monitoring and preventive care in at-risk women. The New York Times has more.

AI tool flags risk of intimate partner violence years in advance

A National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research team has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can predict patients at risk of intimate partner violence (IPV) years before they might otherwise be identified, using data already collected during routine medical visits. The study, led by researchers at Harvard Medical School, found that a multimodal machine-learning model combining structured health data and clinical notes identified IPV risk with about 88% accuracy and could flag cases more than three years in advance. Researchers say the tool could help clinicians move from relying on patient self-disclosure to proactively identifying and supporting at-risk individuals, though it’s intended to guide conversations — not replace clinical judgment.