ROGERS, Ark — Today, we learned Dr. Brian Hyatt, a Rogers psychiatrist charged with two counts of large-scale Medicaid fraud has closed down his private practice. Now, former patients say they are struggling to receive the care they need.
Tyler Masters was a patient of Hyatt when he said he received a voicemail two weeks ago letting him know Pinnacle Premier Psychiatry in Rogers would be closing. Masters told 5NEWS he’s called the facility every day since he received that message to retrieve his records or even a referral for a new provider with no luck.
"It's concerning to think that a doctor can just lock the doors and lock away medical files without any, you know, course of action for the patients," Masters said.
Masters was a patient at Pinnacle Premier Psychiatry for the last two years. He says he has been working tirelessly to find a new doctor to treat him. And that’s not always an easy journey.
"You have to be vulnerable, and you have to kind of step outside of your comfort zone with a mental health provider and to tell them, 'Hey, this is what I'm struggling with,' or 'This is trauma from my past that still has an effect on me,'" Masters added.
"To find out that the person that you've put trust in is not a trustworthy person— It throws you for a loop."
When patients dial the number to Pinnacle Premier Psychiatry no one picks up and it goes straight to a voicemail, and that mailbox says it's full.
With the voicemail box full and no way to receive his medical records, Masters said he's forced to wait for the next opening at another practice to get re-diagnosed and receive the medication he needs. The earliest opening he could find was May 2024.
"And from a mental health standpoint, expecting someone to cold turkey stop medications that they're on and go for six plus months without it is detrimental to their health."
When asked what some of the changes Masters might see in his mental health throughout the next couple of months without his medication, he said, "I take medication for depression and anxiety, and then also adult ADHD. And that can have a pretty drastic effect on my, you know, ability to do my job on a daily basis or be able to stay organized and focused on what's in front of me."
Masters said his journey to a diagnosis at Pinnacle was a six-month-long journey to find a provider and get tested. He hopes that he won’t have to wait that long to get a diagnosis and medication this time around.
Hyatt has stepped down from his position on the Arkansas State Medical Board amid dozens of malpractice lawsuits from former patients and the trial in which he faces two counts of Medicaid fraud.
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