UPMC doctor steps aside as head of cardiothoracic surgery after false billing settlement

A cardiothoracic surgeon at UPMC who was at the center of a federal investigation is stepping aside as chair of the health system’s Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Dr. James Luketich will continue to have a role within the health system, according to UPMC spokesman Paul Wood.

Luketich will continue to perform his clinical responsibilities as well as his research related to minimally invasive surgical approaches to thoracic and esophageal surgery and the multidisciplinary management of esophagogastric carcinoma and lung cancer, Wood said.

He also will continue to hold the Henry T. Bahnson Chair in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh.

UPMC declined to specify why the move was made.

Luketich’s attorney, Efrem Grail, said only the doctor’s role as chair of the department has changed.

“He’s still head of the medical school department, and he’s continuing to teach young surgeons how to operate in this demanding discipline,” Grail said. “He has a full schedule of patients.”

In February, UPMC, Luketich and a physicians group agreed to pay the federal government $8.5 million to settle a lawsuit accusing them of knowingly submitting hundreds of false claims to Medicare, failing to follow medical standards for surgery and knowingly placing patients at risk.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a lawsuit against UPMC, Luketich and University of Pittsburgh Physicians in September 2021 alleging Luketich was regularly scheduling multiple complex surgeries at the same time, forcing him to move between operating rooms and sometimes hospitals, while requiring patients to stay under additional hours of anesthesia.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the settlement will resolve the claims in the case.

The initial lawsuit was filed following allegations brought by former UPMC surgeon Dr. Jonathan D’Cunha, who worked for the health system from 2012 to 2019 and served as the surgical director of lung transplantation.

D’Cunha, who now practices in Arizona, filed a federal whistleblower complaint in April 2019.

He also is involved in an ongoing civil dispute in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court regarding Luketich’s actions.