Doctor vs. Doctor: Is All Fair in Love and Whistleblowing?

Florida dermatologist Ted Schiff signed off last month on his second multimillion-dollar false claims settlement in two years—not as the defendant but as the whistleblower against other dermatology practices that are potential competitors.

The news highlights a practice that health-care attorneys say is somewhat rare but potentially concerning—doctors, hospitals, or other medical providers acting as False Claims Act whistleblowers.

The cases, which are called qui tam suits in legal parlance, almost always lead to a government investigation into the defendants’ billing and business practices and sometimes result in multimillion-dollar settlements. Qui tams are more often filed by an employee or ...