Universal Health Services: Did Psychiatrist Dida Ganjoo Falsify the Medical Record to Hold a Patient Longer?

March 21, 2025

A lawsuit filed in DC District Court in February 2025 contains allegations about psychiatrist Dida Ganjoo’s false evaluations of a patient to extend the patient’s involuntary detention.

The suit, which is a proposed class action, was filed by a patient identified only as “Jane Doe” against Universal Health Services (UHS) and its Psychiatric Institute of Washington (PIW), located in Washington, DC. The suit alleges negligence; intentional infliction of emotional distress; false imprisonment; violation of the DC Consumer Protection Act; violation of the DC Human Rights Act; violations of the Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments and other violations.

The essence of the action is that PIW involuntarily detains patients such as Jane Doe though they do not fit the criteria for detention.

This allegation is not at all surprising: In June 2020, UHS paid $122 million to settle a long-running Department of Justice investigation into allegations that the UHS as a corporation and its psychiatric hospital operation engaged in strategies to maximize revenues by admitting as many patients as possible and keeping them as long as possible. A series of whistleblower lawsuits which formed the basis of the DoJ’s investigation described a methodical scheme whereby UHS psychiatric facility administrators pressured staff to admit patients even when it wasn't necessary and hold them for as long as their insurance paid out.

Although Dr. Ganjoo is not named as a defendant in the Doe suit, the civil complaint contains allegations regarding her treatment of Doe which may constitute violations of DC law regarding the medical profession, such as willfully making or filing a false report or record in the practice of a health occupation. 

According to the text of the suit, Ms. Doe met with Dr. Ganjoo for a few minutes on April 16, 2024, during which Dr. Ganjoo did not provide any therapy or treatment or engage in any meaningful conversation with Ms. Doe about her mood, emotions, or mental status.

The suit alleges that Dr. Ganjoo’s progress note following the short meeting was materially false in numerous respects. Per the text of the suit:  

…falsely stated that Ms. Doe was “disheveled” (despite being in hospital garments and freshly showered), as having “constricted” affect (when she did not), as having “paranoid” delusions (when she did not…), as having an “impaired” short term memory (when, in fact, Ms. Doe had no memory deficits whatsoever), as having “poor” judgment due to “noncompliance with treatment” (when, in fact, PIW did not offer any treatment with which Ms. Doe could be noncompliant), and as having “poor” insight “based on unaware of extent of illness” (when, in fact, Ms. Doe did not have a mental illness about which she could have been unaware).  

Dr. Ganjoo reported in the mental status exam that Ms. Doe did not have any suicidal or homicidal ideation but in her safety risk assessment, contradicted the mental status exam, reporting that “current suicidal/homicidal ideation with intent, realistic plan, and/or available means or other serious life threatening, self-injurious behaviors.” The plaintiff alleges that “every word of the safety risk assessment was materially and knowingly false.”  

Ms. Doe states that Dr. Ganjoo then prescribed her Benadryl though she had not diagnosed Ms. Doe with any condition for which Benadryl would be indicated.

Based on this false report, and despite failing to conduct any diagnostic procedure or assessment, at 2:00 pm on April 16, Dr. Ganjoo improperly and negligently certified the need for Doe’s continued involuntary psychiatric detention. 

On April 17, 2024, Ms. Doe was able to contact an attorney who successfully challenged her wrongful involuntary detention; the Superior Court vacated her scheduled probable cause hearing and closed the matter, ordering that PIW discharge her.

On this same day—the day after she had stated in Ms. Doe’s medical record that she had suicidal ideation with “intent and a realistic plan,” Dr. Ganjoo stated in Ms. Doe’s record that her “psychiatric symptoms are resolved,” her suicidal ideation and suddenly disappeared, etc. 

Ms. Doe alleges that she met with Dr. Ganjoo at or around 12:00 pm on April 17 but stated in Ms. Doe’s medical record that she met with Ms. Doe at 8:00 a.m. to give the impression that PIW had made an independent, medically-based decision to discharge Ms. Doe as opposed to being compelled to do so by the Court’s order.  

Further, Doe alleges that Dr. Ganjoo falsified her discharge summary by certifying that Doe received or was offered various services which she states she did not:

• Was officered groups related to coping skills, social and life skills, family dynamics, expression of feelings and stress and anger management; 

• Had a daily treatment team meeting to address reason for hospitalizations, medication changes, coping skills, target symptoms, and primary stressors; 

• Was encouraged to eat a healthy diet and exercise daily for...overall optimal health;  

• That PIW had put a plan in place for safety after discharge.  

Source: Jane Doe v. Universal Health Services, et al., case 1:25-cv-00312, filed February 3. 2025, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and Tara Bannow, “Unsealed UHS lawsuits describe improper admissions, extended stays,” Modern Healthcare, July 17, 2020.