25 July 2023 , 16:00
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Released security footage shows the exact moment a disgraced psychiatrist allegedly faked visiting patients, walking past the rooms in which they were locked for days.
Dr. Brian Hyatt visited the rooms of his patients just 17 times in 45 days, the footage - which was reviewed by investigators - revealed. And his visits were often less than 10 minutes long.
A former staff member told the police in April 2022 that the doctor only visited the ward for "a few minutes each day and had no contact with patients."
The security footage proves otherwise. It shows him walking down the halls, sometimes with a nurse in tow, typing away at his computer. He hardly ever glances at his patients' rooms.
Several psychiatric patients were held at Northwest Medical Center for days, released only after court orders dictated it (NBC WS)Arkansas' Office of the Attorney General allege that he was running an elaborate, $800,000 insurance scheme the entire time, labeling each patient with the "highest severity code," resulting in the highest insurance charge, and holding them against their will for well over the legal limit.
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At least 26 patients fell victim to the 50-year-old Arkansan's treachery at the Northwest Medical Center, attorneys allege. Some were held for up to five days despite a state law dictating that patients can only be held against their wills in such wards for 72 hours.
The doctor claimed on the insurance forms, which he submitted to agencies for reimbursement, that he conducted daily face-to-face evaluations with patients at his hospital.
Instead, he is accused of milking his patients' insurance benefits to earn up to $1,367 per day.
In Arkansas, you can only be held in a psych ward against your will for 3 days (NBC WS)"I think that they were running a scheme to hold people as long as possible, to bill their insurance as long as possible before kicking them out the door, and then filling the bed with someone else," said Aaron Cash, the lawyer for several of Hyatt's former patients.
The hospital couldn't provide sufficient documentation to justify the stay of 246 patients between January 2019 and June 2022, when the scam allegedly occurred.
"According to the claims submitted by Dr Hyatt and the non-physician providers working under his supervision, no patient being treated in the behavioral unit located at Northwest Medical Centre ever got better, at least not before the day of the patient's release," a search warrant affidavit claims.
One of the victims, who was held for five days, told NBC that they were sedated after being held by their arms and legs, pinned to their stomach by four nurses.
No charges have been brought against psychiatrist Dr. Brian Hyatt (US News)Hyatt was named medical director of the hospital's behavioral unit in January 2018 and ran his own private practice, Pinnacle Premier Psychiatry, 25 miles away.
He was "abruptly terminated" from his job at the hospital when the allegations came to light, and he also stepped down from his position as chairman of the Arkansas State Medical Board.
Hyatt has denied any wrongdoing and hasn't been charged with a crime.
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Northwest Medical Center also denied the allegations, saying: "We believe hospital personnel complied in all respects with Arkansas law, which heavily relies on the treating physician's assessment of the patient, including in decisions related to involuntary commitment."
The statement went on to say: "While it is not our practice to comment on pending litigation matters, I can share that last spring, we undertook a number of actions to ensure our patients’ safety, including hiring new providers responsible for the clinical care of our behavioral health patients in early May 2022."