State suspends psychologist Philip A. Hirsch's license for non-authorized prescriptions

March 6, 2009

The Washington Department of Health (DOH) indefinitely suspended psychologist PHILIP A. HIRSCH’s license to practice for unprofessional conduct. According to the Board’s documents, in March 2005, Hirsch faxed a pharmacy a prescription refill for the antidepressant Lexapro for a patient, without authorization from a credentialed health care practitioner to do so; between May and July 2005, Hirsch signed and faxed prescription refills and sent them to requesting pharmacies without the authorization of a credentialed health care practitioner. Twice in August 2006, the DOH sent Hirsch a request for copies of the complete medical/counseling records as well as the medication and employment contract and other data relative to a psychiatrist who had allegedly treated the patient while allegedly employed by Hirsch. Hirsch requested an extension to provide the data and it was granted but then he never provided the data or otherwise responded to the DOH.

(Stipulated Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Agreed Order, In the Matter of Philip A. Hirsch, Lic. No. PY00001117, Case No. M2007-11239, State Department of Washington Department of Health Examining Board of Psychology, March 6, 2009.)

Comments
Ben Scammed
2010-08-03 13:55:17
Philip Hirsch did far more than heinous things than this, such as running a sham clinic with fraudulent billing practices. He also failed to pay his unwitting employees and the other physicians he had brought into the practice. No one knew that this "new" clinic he had set up was just a front, and that as soon as the insurance checks hit his bank account he shut it down and left everyone unpaid and out of work. This man is terrible, and yet he still runs a business as a "consultant". He should be in jail.

Sara Weelborg
2023-04-20 09:42:52
I am a mental health nurse practitioner. Unfortunately, I did not find the comment by %u201CBen Scammed%u201D until it was too late, and I had entered into an employment contract with Phil Hirsch. I caught on to his fraudulent tactics fairly quickly, thankfully, and have spent the last several months learning about years of fraud, exploitation, and other unethical behavior. I have spoken with two other nurse practitioners, two therapists, and several administrative staff personnel who have been duped into working for Hirsch for many months and then terminated or otherwise leaving with ZERO compensation for their services. He opens a new LLC about every 2-4 years. He advertises to medical practices %u201Cno cost to you%u201D and can do that because he personally keeps all the revenue received from insurance claims for visits conducted by providers. In addition to perpetuating wage theft and fraudulent billing, he stole trade secrets from a telemedicine company in California about ten years ago. He is a truly deceptive person who claims to care about behavioral health and telehealth, but is actually working against mental health providers, primary care practices, and the telehealth industry. He exploits healthcare providers, disadvantages primary care practices, and defrauds patients who are already suffering with mental health problems. He bills patients for visits they did not have and charges credit cards for visits already billed to insurance. He manipulates claims after they are submitted by the clinician and before they leave the clearinghouse- doing such things as removing the telemedicine modifier code and changing the place of service. Amazingly, he has managed, it seems, to have gotten away with this behavior for two decades (maybe longer). However, we are now in the age of social media, and I am hopeful he will be exposed as a fraud to a broader audience, minimizing the chance that people will be victimized in the future. Those of us most recently affected are speaking up. I welcome anyone reading this who wants to know more, or who has been likewise victimized by Phil Hirsch, to call or text me at 253-320-5844. And thank you, Ben Scammed, for your comment. It has been very helpful to me, and others, as it has helped connect the dots regarding this scam.

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