Queenstown chiropractor defrauds ACC after faking 1000 appointments

Matthew Cochrane's offending was "systematic and deliberate". Stock Image / 123RF

A chiropractor who faked more than 1000 appointments managed to defraud ACC of more than $130,000 in just under two years.

Queenstown chiropractor Matthew Richard Cochrane was today stripped of his registration and fined nearly $30,000 following a hearing by the Health Practitioner Disciplinary Tribunal.

It comes after he was sentenced to five months community detention, a nightly curfew and ordered to complete 100 hours of community work in 2020.

Tribunal deputy chairwoman Alison Douglass said there was no doubt that the extent of Cochrane's offending was "systematic and deliberate".

"A very serious breach of trust by this practitioner has been committed," she said.

ACC raised concerns about Cochrane's practice and billing methods in 2016.

When told his practices didn't meet the legal threshold for ACC-funded treatment, he set out to reduce his hours.

However, his billing practices continued.

Evidence produced at the hearing showed that between March 2015 and October 2016, Cochrane invoiced more than $200,000 more to ACC than any other typical chiropractor would.

Over a 20 month period, he also created fake appointments, duplicated medical records and ordered patients to have more treatments than needed. He also created nearly 2500 appointments for durations lasting more than 45 and 60 minutes when they typically did not go longer than half an hour.

Cochrane, who didn't appear at the hearing, provided a statement, acknowledging that ACC acts on a high trust model and admitted his actions caused a significant breach of trust, involving theft from the community.

An application for name suppression was denied.

Cochrane had no intent in rehabilitation and wasn't currently practising, nor did he intend to return to his practice.

An ACC spokesperson commented on the matter saying that "Following an investigation into Dr Cochrane's invoicing to ACC, we referred this matter to the police in 2017".

"We have been involved in a restorative justice process with Dr Cochrane since 2020. As this process is ongoing, we cannot make any further comments".