Arkansas Advocate
Former chairman resigns from Arkansas Medical Board facing scrutiny in state, federal probes
By Hunter Field
May 26, 2023

— Excerpt

Northwest Arkansas psychiatrist Dr. Brian Hyatt resigned from the State Medical Board last week, two months after he stepped down as chairman.

Hyatt’s resignation — confirmed by records obtained under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act — comes as he is under investigation by state and federal authorities.

The scope of the criminal probes is unknown, but court records indicate that investigators in the Arkansas attorney general’s office suspected Hyatt of Medicaid fraud. The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas also confirmed this week that U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents executed a search warrant at Hyatt’s Rogers office…

The investigations into Hyatt began last year with a whistleblower complaint and centered on his time leading the Northwest Medical Center’s Behavioral Health Unit, which ended in May 2022 when his contract with the hospital was terminated, state records show.

The hospital last month agreed to repay $1.1 million to the state Medicaid program in a settlement.

At the heart of the investigators’ suspicions is that Hyatt was billing Medicaid for one of the costliest levels of psychiatric care without actually seeing patients face to face and providing the required service…