Scott Reuben
Encyclopedia
Scott S. Reuben was Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at Tufts University
in Boston, Massachusetts and chief of acute pain at Baystate Medical Center
in Springfield, Massachusetts
before being sentenced to prison for health care fraud
. Reuben was considered a prolific and influential researcher in pain management
, and his purported findings altered the way millions of patients are treated for pain
during and after orthopedic surgeries. Reuben has now admitted that he never conducted any of the clinical trials on which his conclusions were based "in what may be considered the longest-running and widest-ranging cases of academic fraud." Scientific American
has called Reuben the medical equivalent of Bernie Madoff
, the former NASDAQ
chairman who was convicted of orchestrating a $65-billion Ponzi scheme
.
. He graduated from medical school at the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1985 and undertook his anesthesiology residency at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York
.
Reuben fell under suspicion when Baystate conducted a routine audit in May 2008 which revealed Reuben hadn't gotten approval for two studies he'd intended to present during the hospital's research week. On March 10, 2009 a Baystate spokeswoman announced that Reuben admitted to fabricating much of the data underlying his research. Reuben never conducted the clinical trials that he wrote about in 21 journal articles dating from at least 1996. In some cases, he even invented the patients. Although Reuben often co-wrote papers with other researchers, Baystate found that the other researchers did not know about or participate in Reuben's studies, and their names were forged on documents. The hospital asked the journals to retract the studies, which reported favorable results from painkillers including Pfizer Inc.'s Bextra, Celebrex and Lyrica and Merck & Co. Inc.'s Vioxx. His studies also claimed Wyeth
's antidepressant
Effexor could be used as a painkiller. Pfizer gave Reuben five research grants between 2002 and 2007. He was a paid member of the company's speakers bureau, giving talks about Pfizer drugs to colleagues. Reuben also wrote to the Food and Drug Administration
, urging the agency not to restrict the use of many of the painkillers he studied, citing his own data on their safety and effectiveness.
"Doctors have been using (his) findings very widely," said Dr. Steven Shafer, editor of Anesthesia and Analgesia, a scientific journal
that published ten articles identified as containing fraudulent data. "His findings had a huge impact on the field." He also described Reuben's actions as the biggest case of fraud in the history of anesthesiology. Paul White, another editor at the journal, estimates that Reuben's studies led to the sale of billions of dollars worth of drugs which may have actually slowed down recovery times for patients.
Reuben's work had actually come under scrutiny as early as 2007, when several anesthesiologists noticed his studies never showed negative results. Greg Koski, former director of the Office for Human Research Protections
, said the fraud was unusual because Reuben was able to carry it on for almost 13 years without being caught by the peer review
process.
All of Reuben's 21 fraudulent articles, as well as the article abstracts, are documented in Healthcare Ledger Magazine.
Reuben no longer holds an appointment as a professor at Tufts University
's medical school. His license status with the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine is "voluntary agreement not to practice."
. On May 24, Ponsor sentenced him to six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, forfeit $50,000 to the government and make $360,000 in restitution to pharmaceutical companies. The plea deal effectively ended his career as a doctor; most states will not grant medical licenses to convicted felons.
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
in Boston, Massachusetts and chief of acute pain at Baystate Medical Center
Baystate Medical Center
Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, is the largest of four hospitals for Baystate Health. BMC, the leading health facility in western Massachusetts, is:...
in Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
before being sentenced to prison for health care fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
. Reuben was considered a prolific and influential researcher in pain management
Pain management
Pain management is a branch of medicine employing an interdisciplinary approach for easing the suffering and improving the quality of life of those living with pain. The typical pain management team includes medical practitioners, clinical psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists,...
, and his purported findings altered the way millions of patients are treated for pain
Pain
Pain is an unpleasant sensation often caused by intense or damaging stimuli such as stubbing a toe, burning a finger, putting iodine on a cut, and bumping the "funny bone."...
during and after orthopedic surgeries. Reuben has now admitted that he never conducted any of the clinical trials on which his conclusions were based "in what may be considered the longest-running and widest-ranging cases of academic fraud." Scientific American
Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
has called Reuben the medical equivalent of Bernie Madoff
Bernard Madoff
Bernard Lawrence "Bernie" Madoff is a former American businessman, stockbroker, investment advisor, and financier. He is the former non-executive chairman of the NASDAQ stock market, and the admitted operator of a Ponzi scheme that is considered to be the largest financial fraud in U.S...
, the former NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
chairman who was convicted of orchestrating a $65-billion Ponzi scheme
Ponzi scheme
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation...
.
Background
Reuben was educated at Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He graduated from medical school at the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1985 and undertook his anesthesiology residency at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Reuben fell under suspicion when Baystate conducted a routine audit in May 2008 which revealed Reuben hadn't gotten approval for two studies he'd intended to present during the hospital's research week. On March 10, 2009 a Baystate spokeswoman announced that Reuben admitted to fabricating much of the data underlying his research. Reuben never conducted the clinical trials that he wrote about in 21 journal articles dating from at least 1996. In some cases, he even invented the patients. Although Reuben often co-wrote papers with other researchers, Baystate found that the other researchers did not know about or participate in Reuben's studies, and their names were forged on documents. The hospital asked the journals to retract the studies, which reported favorable results from painkillers including Pfizer Inc.'s Bextra, Celebrex and Lyrica and Merck & Co. Inc.'s Vioxx. His studies also claimed Wyeth
Wyeth
Wyeth, formerly one of the companies owned by American Home Products Corporation , was a pharmaceutical company. The company was based in Madison, New Jersey, USA...
's antidepressant
Antidepressant
An antidepressant is a psychiatric medication used to alleviate mood disorders, such as major depression and dysthymia and anxiety disorders such as social anxiety disorder. According to Gelder, Mayou &*Geddes people with a depressive illness will experience a therapeutic effect to their mood;...
Effexor could be used as a painkiller. Pfizer gave Reuben five research grants between 2002 and 2007. He was a paid member of the company's speakers bureau, giving talks about Pfizer drugs to colleagues. Reuben also wrote to the Food and Drug Administration
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
, urging the agency not to restrict the use of many of the painkillers he studied, citing his own data on their safety and effectiveness.
"Doctors have been using (his) findings very widely," said Dr. Steven Shafer, editor of Anesthesia and Analgesia, a scientific journal
Scientific journal
In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past...
that published ten articles identified as containing fraudulent data. "His findings had a huge impact on the field." He also described Reuben's actions as the biggest case of fraud in the history of anesthesiology. Paul White, another editor at the journal, estimates that Reuben's studies led to the sale of billions of dollars worth of drugs which may have actually slowed down recovery times for patients.
Reuben's work had actually come under scrutiny as early as 2007, when several anesthesiologists noticed his studies never showed negative results. Greg Koski, former director of the Office for Human Research Protections
Office for human research protections
The Office for Human Research Protections is a small office within the United States Department of Health and Human Services that deals with ethical oversight of clinical research conducted by the department, mostly through the National Institutes of Health.The office's primary duty is the...
, said the fraud was unusual because Reuben was able to carry it on for almost 13 years without being caught by the peer review
Peer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
process.
All of Reuben's 21 fraudulent articles, as well as the article abstracts, are documented in Healthcare Ledger Magazine.
Reuben no longer holds an appointment as a professor at Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
's medical school. His license status with the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine is "voluntary agreement not to practice."
Sentencing
On January 7, 2010; Reuben agreed to plead guilty to one count of health care fraud. Prosecutors alleged that Reuben obtained thousands of dollars in grants from pharmaceutical companies for research that he never performed. He formally pleaded guilty on February 21, 2010 before Judge Michael PonsorMichael Ponsor
Michael Adrian Ponsor is a senior judge on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. He serves in the court's western region, in the city of Springfield....
. On May 24, Ponsor sentenced him to six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, forfeit $50,000 to the government and make $360,000 in restitution to pharmaceutical companies. The plea deal effectively ended his career as a doctor; most states will not grant medical licenses to convicted felons.