Two of the Oklahoma hospitals that primarily serve underprivileged communities are at risk of losing millions of dollars in Medicaid funding because they previously apportioned some of those federal dollars toward training physicians. The teaching hospitals associated with the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University redirected the money without first acquiring a required waiver,…
Leapfrog Files Defense Document In Response To Safety Grade Lawsuit
Leapfrog Group recently found themselves the target of a lawsuit when Saint Anthony Hospital, based in the Chicago area, claimed bad data led to a mediocre ranking in the latest round of the nonprofit agency’s Hospital Safety Grades. In a freshly filed affirmative defense document, Leapfrog Group maintains Saint Anthony Hospital is solely responsible for…
California Hospital System Pays $2 Million Over Data Breach
A California hospital system has come under fire from the state’s Attorney General following a pair of breaches of electronic health records systems. According to the authorities, one of the security lapses allowed the records to remain exposed for three years. Cottage Health, based in Santa Barbara, recently settled with the state, agreeing to a $2…
Fraud Lawsuit Filed Against More Than 60 Indiana Hospitals
Two South Bend lawyers have instigated a civil suit that accuses dozens of healthcare facilities of perpetrating fraud related to federal grants awarded for the implementation of electronic medical records. The complaint claims the hospitals overcharged for the release of patient files, clearing more than $300 million in fraudulent payments from federal and state agencies. According…
Readmissions Reduction Efforts May Lead To Increased Mortality Rates
A new study on the implementation of the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP) found an uptick in deaths of patients who were initially admitted for heart failure. Conducted by UCLA and Harvard researchers, the study is published in JAMA Cardiology. The observational study examined the records of over 100,000 Medicare patients who were hospitalized for heart…
Florida Surgeon In Court For Wrongful Death Suit
A wrongful death civil case that accuses a surgeon of negligence for a procedure performed at South Lake Hospital reaches a Florida courtroom this week. The suit stems from the death of 55-year-old Merritta Webster, who underwent a hysterectomy at the healthcare facility based in Clermont, Florida, in 2011. Shelley Glover, MD, performed the procedure…
California Woman Prepared To Take Intuitive Surgical To Court
According to many healthcare professionals — and some stock market observers — Intuitive Surgical is one of the most important manufacturers in the medical sphere today, and their da Vinci robotically-assisted surgical systems are the unquestioned future of the OR. One California woman sees the company and its wares very differently. And she’s prepared to…
ACA Remains In Place, But Other Questions About Federal Healthcare Support Loom
As the latest “last-ditch effort” at repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act collapsed in the U.S. Senate yesterday, there were sighs of relief by the broad range of organizations that opposed the bill backed by Republican leadership. But the healthcare industry can’t get too comfortable. There are a landslide of other issues rumbling forward.…
Senator Calls For Public Release Of Hospital Inspection Records
Sen. Chuck Grassley believes hospital inspection reports should be released into the public sphere. The Republican lawmaker from Iowa last week penned a letter to Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), calling for the routine release of facility inspections conducted as part of the accreditation process for hospitals.…
Resident Who Claimed School Called Her ‘Too Nice’ To Be A Surgeon Gets Hit With A Lawsuit Of Her Own
A surgical resident who filed a civil lawsuit against St. Louis University, claiming she was discriminated against because of her work history as a registered nurse, is now facing a new legal tangle initiated by the school. St. Louis University opened litigation against Mandy Rice — along with her husband, Michael Rice — claiming that…
Kansas Hospital Responds To Misdiagnosis Lawsuit
The University of Kansas Hospital was hit with a troubling lawsuit last month, featuring accusations of misdiagnosis and subsequent cover-up. They filed their response this week, according to a report by KCUR-FM. The hospital delivered an 18-page answer to the lawsuit filed by Shawnee, Kansas resident Wendy Ann Noon Berner, who was initially given a…
FDA Takes A Stand Against Shady Stem Cell Therapy Clinics
Stem cell therapy clinics have been described as a “Wild West” in U.S. healthcare, but the FDA is coming forward to remind those tinkering in the field that there is in fact a sheriff in town. On Monday, the agency announced stepped up efforts to shut down facilities and companies peddling stem cell therapies that…
New Ohio Law Mandates Organ Donation Advocacy In High School
A lack of donor organs is a constant dilemma for physicians hoping to perform lifesaving transplant surgeries for patients. Now, the state of Ohio is attempting to address the shortfall by building awareness about the need for organ donation right into the education system. Beginning this academic year, every school district in the state is…
FDA Issues Alert About Deaths Following Intragastric Balloon System Implants
The FDA announced that it is investigating a pair of inflatable silicone balloon devices used in surgical obesity treatments for fatal adverse effects. The inquiry comes after five deaths were reported involving patients implanted with either the Orbera Intragastric Balloon System, manufactured by Apollo Endosurgery, or the ReShape Integrated Dual Balloon System, manufactured by ReShape…
White House Commission On Opioid Crisis Says It’s Time To Declare National Emergency
It didn’t generate catchy chants, but one of the most resonant promises Donald Trump made on the campaign trail was to use the authority of the White House to address the scourge of opioid addiction in the U.S. The commission he set up shortly after taking up residence in the Oval Office has issued a…
GOP Plan To End The ACA Hits Wall As ‘Skinny Repeal’ Loses In Tight Senate Vote
The tumult around the Affordable Care Act is undoubtedly far from over, but the Republican effort to repeal and replace the landmark piece of healthcare legislation has collapsed in the Senate after marathon sessions and an early morning defeat of the latest, leanest fix. “It’s time to move on,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said,…
Texas Doctor Faces Federal Charges Following Multiple Overdose Deaths
A physician in the Dallas area was arrested last week on multiple charges, and federal prosecutors are tying him to seven overdose deaths with the possibility of the case expanding to include several more. Howard Gregg Diamond, MD, was charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and healthcare fraud, according to reporting by the Associated…
FDA Announces Training Requirements For Manufacturers Of Opioids
Scott Gottlieb, MD, is still in his first months as FDA commissioner, but he’s already following up on pledges to take a harder line in addressing the ongoing epidemic of opioid addiction. In the opening remarks at a two-day meeting on opioid abuse, Gottlieb said that companies that make immediate-release opioids will now be required…
Medical Malpractice Reform Bill Passes In The House
Earlier this week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting Access to Care Act — or H.R. 1215 — which implements medical malpractice reform by capping plaintiff damages at $250,000. The legislation passed by a vote of 218-210, predominantly with party-line GOP support. In addition to the financial ceiling, the act sets a three-year…
California’s Single-Payer Health Insurance Moves Forward, But Questions Remain
The “repeal and replace” effort to eliminate the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as the law of the land has spun its wheels deep into the mud of the U.S. Senate, but that hasn’t stopped the California legislature from moving forward with their own compensatory plan to deliver single-payer health insurance to the most populous state…
Abbott-Thoratec Recalls Component Of HeartRate II After Multiple Deaths
Abbott has recalled the Pocket System Controller for the Thoratec HeartMate II left Ventricular Assist (LVAS) following 70 reports of adverse incidents that have resulted in at least 19 injuries and 26 deaths. Nearly 29,000 devices are covered by the recall. According to the notice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the problem…
Virginia Woman Awarded $5.13 Million In Surgical Fire Lawsuit
Earlier this month, a jury in Fairfax County, Virginia handed Beverly Wilson a hefty financial award in her lawsuit against Inova Fairfax Hospital. The healthcare facility was ordered to pay $5.13 million dollars for severe burns she sustained after a fire ignited during a routine medical procedure, according to a report in the Fairfax County…
Court Says da Vinci Manufacturer Is Obligated To Warn Hospitals About Risks
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISI) believed the legal saga was over. In 2014, the manufacturer prevailed in a court case brought by a patient who suffered through a slew of medical complications following prostate surgery performed with the da Vinci robotic system. Last week, the Washington Supreme Court vacated the lower court’s decision and ordered a…
Cleveland Clinic Holds Surprise Homecoming For Doctor Barred By Travel Ban
Suha Abushamma, MD, was one of the faces of the controversial travel ban executive order signed by President Donald Trump at the end of January. Though she held a valid visa, her reentry to the U.S. following a trip to visit family in Saudi Arabia was blocked in the hours following the implementation of the…
The Unexpected Epicenter Of The Healthcare Community’s Resistance To Trump
There was little question the healthcare community was destined to become entangled in heated political issues once Donald Trump began his residency in the White House. The abolishment of the Affordable Care Act has long been Republican dogma, and candidate Trump returned to attacks on so-called “Obamacare” repeatedly during his barnstorming campaign for the presidency.…