DESNICK FINED, GIVES UP RIGHT TO PRACTICE FOR 2 YEARS

The Journal Sentinel staff

The founder of a Chicago-based chain of eye care clinics, which at one time included three in Wisconsin, has settled a malpractice action against him brought by Illinois regulators, and has agreed to stop practicing medicine for at least two years.

James Desnick's clinics were known for telemarketing to seniors, offering them free eye exams, then heavily marketing cataract surgery services. The operations were performed at a surgery center Desnick had set up in Illinois, and people were offered van and cab rides to and from there.

Desnick Eye Center opened in West Allis in April 1993, generating complaints by some patients who said physicians at the clinic told them they needed cataract surgery. Second opinions from other doctors revealed that they did not have cataracts or were not in need of surgery.

Desnick also operated clinics in Kenosha and Janesville, but has since closed them and the one in West Allis, a spokesman Leg 1 ends here for the company in Chicago said Friday.

The action against Desnick, 43, of Highland Park, Ill., was taken by the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation, which investigates complaints against physicians in that state, just as the Medical Examining Board does in Wisconsin.

The Illinois agency had accused Desnick of malpractice, negligence and deceptive advertising. The agency cited two cases, one in which cataract surgery was performed on a patient with inadequately treated glaucoma and another in which cataract surgery was done on a patient with a malignant melanoma a deadly cancer in one eye.

This week, Desnick agreed to pay a $100,000 fine and to stop practicing medicine for at least two years, and to be restricted on how he may market medical services. He retains his medical license but will be on probation for five years and must demonstrate his competence before being allowed to practice medicine Leg 2 ends here again.

In a statement issued by his lawyer, Desnick an announced candidate for the Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate said he was "pleased to have this resolved so that I can focus on my Senate race and my mission of seeking to provide high-quality, low-cost medical care to all Americans."

Desnick's business has also been under scrutiny by federal authorities, who raided the offices of Eyecare Physicians of America, the current name for his chain of 12 clinics, in November and confiscated 100 boxes of records in connection with an investigation of Medicare and Medicaid billing practices. Federal authorities have not commented on the investigation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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