CRSQA / USAEYES Surgeons May be Hazardous to Your Health |
CRSQA / USAEYES is a surgeons' referral service masquerading as a patient advocacy group, operated by Glenn Hagele from his home in California. Glenn Hagele makes the following claims about himself on his web site.
Glenn Hagele is the founder and Executive Director of the Council for Refractive Surgery Quality Assurance (details). As an independent consultant since 1982 with Creative Marketing Design (CMD), Mr. Hagele has participated in several different facets of the healthcare industry. Mr. Hagele was responsible for the start-up of a managed services organization (MSO) in Detroit and a specialist independent practitioner association (IPA) in Sacramento. The Sacramento IPA required the recruitment of over 700 medical and allied healthcare professionals for a statewide vision services provider panel. As Chief Operating Officer of the IPA Mr. Hagele negotiated capitated reimbursement agreements with several of the nation's largest health maintenance organizations (HMO). Court records show that Glenn Hagele was a complete failure as a marketing consultant and filed a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in the amount of $431,313 under the name of "Creative Marketing" from the same address as which he operates CRSQA / USAEYES. Court records also show numerous tax liens filed against Glenn Hagele by the IRS and State of California. Court records also show that the Sacramento District Attorney placed liens on his property for unpaid child support.
Glenn Hagele "certifies" about 30+ refractive surgeons who pay it the fees of $7,000 in the first year and $5,000/year thereafter. In exchange, they receive CRSQA's bogus seal of approval in the hope that this will help them promote their Lasik practices.
Part of Glenn Hagele's job is to patrol internet forums to promote LASIK, discredit patients who have had bad outcomes, and prop up the practices of surgeons to whom he provides "certifications". Glenn Hagele has harassed, threatened to publish the divorce records of a patient, and threatened to sue other patients.
As a non-profit organization, CRSQA / USAEYES is required to provide annual tax returns to anyone who requests them. Several individuals have requested these returns, however, he has never provided copies of these returns.
Glenn Hagele is known for having certified and promoted several of the most notorious surgeons in the LASIK industry. One example is Dr. Glenn Kawesch, who has been accused by the California Attorney General of engaging in dishonest and corrupt acts, altering medical records, and fabricating various test results. Dr. Glenn Kawesch also pleaded guilty to "evading $4.2 million in federal taxes through sham contracts and schemes stretching from Ireland to the West Indies". Dr. Glenn Kawesch also has had an extraordinary number of malpractice lawsuits filed against him. Here is an partial list of some of the malpractice cases that have been filed against Dr. Glenn Kawesch.
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Anne Demary for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Anne Duong for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Anne Peik for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Aris Vision Institute for Breach of Contract
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Barry Wolter for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by David Yenter for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Dean Nathans for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Dianne Wallace for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Dianne Wallace for Wrongful Termination
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Douglas Freeman for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Dr. Farzad Yaghouti for Slander
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Ed Krauss for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Eli Abada for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Eric Grays for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Ernie Vaca for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Evelyn Goodrich for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Frank Soya for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by George Biagi for Medical Malpractice and Fraud
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Harold Hunter for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by James Davis for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Jennifer Monroe for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Jetsource Charter for Breach of Contract
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Jody Ideker for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Joe Cardoza for Negligence
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by John Doe for Slander
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Kenneth Gibson for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Larry Bergman for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Lee Gilmore for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Lisa Leighton for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Margaret Cheleman for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Marilyn Hall for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Mario Jenkins for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Melvin Galli for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Michael Duckor for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Michael Pines for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Nicholas Subis for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Patricia Mitchell for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Randy Ketelsen for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Ranul Quiapo for Wrongful Termination
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Rene Datta for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Renee Stone for Wrongful Termination
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Richard Jacobs for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Rony Abada for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Shannon Thomas for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Sharae Shank for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Tamara Scott for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Theodore Dykhuizen for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Thomas Barrett for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Toni and Mike Darling for Medical Malpractice
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by Virginia King for Wrongful Termination
Dr. Glenn Kawesch Sued by William Duvel for Medical MalpracticeIn spite of all of these malpractice lawsuits, Glenn Hagele continued to publicly defend Dr. Kawesch with the following published statements:
- September 10, 2002
According to the National Practitioners Data Base, Dr. Kawesch has had fewer than eight paid malpractice claims of $30,000 or more during his entire career. According to Dr. Kawesch and affirmed by the California Medical Board, Dr. Kawesch has provided more than 30,000 refractive
surgeries. When we require that not more than one in 500 patients could have a successful malpractice suit of over $30k, that would mean as many as 60 successful claims could be made against someone who has provided as much surgery as Dr. Kawesch.
- September 12, 2002
Dr. Kawesch did not have his license restricted during this hearing last month and that the ALJ found the sight of all subject patients had actually improved since the surgeries. A full hearing to evaluate all details is tentatively scheduled for January.
- October 11, 2002
It is reasonable to expect that a doctor who has performed 20,000-30,000 surgeries will make mistakes and will have successful malpractice lawsuits. I don't know about you, but I know I can't really be expected to do something 30,000 times and never make a mistake.Glenn Hagele finally gave up on defending the indefensible:
- March 30, 2003
This doctor is not certified by our organization.