The dermatologist Miguel Alpalhão has been suspended from his duties without pay, as reported this Friday. The doctor is currently at the center of a controversy involving additional surgeries at the Santa Maria Hospital in Lisbon.
A report from the Health Activity’s General Inspectorate (IGAS), released this month, concluded that the doctor earned over 700,000 euros in three years from additional surgeries performed outside normal working hours to reduce waiting lists, proposing, approving, and coding his own surgeries more than 350 times.
The data collected by IGAS indicates that the dermatologist proposed, approved, and coded the surgeries—which, along with the severity of the issue, determines the billing price—193 times last year, 85 times in 2023, and 78 times in 2022.
The report also noted that he scheduled consultations for his parents without the mandatory prior referral and operated on them, receiving more than 5,500 euros.
Since he is not a public servant, the inquiry process was closed, but IGAS determined that a statement should be prepared regarding potential financial liability, which could lead to the return of funds received improperly.
The additional surgical production is a regime under the Integrated Management System for Surgical Patients (SIGIC) that allows surgeries outside normal working hours, such as on weekends, to reduce waiting lists.
The IGAS report has been sent to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
[Updated at 14:51]
