Springfield Doctor Sentenced for Illegally Sharing Patient Medical Files

BOSTON – A Springfield gynecologist was sentenced today in connection with allowing a pharmaceutical sales representative to access patient records and lying to federal investigators.

Rita Luthra, M.D., 67, of Longmeadow, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to one year of probation. In April 2018, Luthra was convicted by a federal jury of one count of violation of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act and one count of obstruction of a criminal health care investigation.

From January 2011 through November 2011, Luthra allowed a pharmaceutical company sales representative from Warner Chilcott to access protected health information in her patients’ medical files. She later provided false information to federal agents when interviewed about her relationship with Warner Chilcott.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Phillip M. Coyne, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Mark S. McCormack, Special Agent in Charge of the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations’ Metro Washington Field Office; Sean Smith, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office; Leigh-Alistair Barzey of the Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office; and Scott A. Rezendes, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel Yeager, Chief of Lelling’s Healthcare Fraud Unit, prosecuted the case.