Hundreds sue Ky. hospital over heart procedures
Source: USAToday
The hospital and 11 cardiologists are accused of conspiring to perform unnecessary procedures to unjustly enrich themselves.
LONDON, Ky. -- After enduring at least two-dozen heart procedures over two decades, disabled former meat cutter Edward Marshall decided in September 2010 that he'd been treated long enough by cardiologists at St. Joseph London hospital.
So he saw a specialist in Lexington, who told him some disturbing news: An artery treated just months earlier was barely blocked, and there had been no need for Dr. Sandesh "Sam" Patil to enlarge it with a balloon angioplasty, then prop it open with a stent.
"I would have not carried out this procedure," the Lexington cardiologist, Dr. Michael R. Jones, told Marshall in a letter that is included in the court record.
Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/16/hundreds-sue-hospital-over-heart-procedures/1925245/
Scuba
(53,475 posts)jsr
(7,712 posts)The Texas Medical Board has accused a well-known Austin cardiologist of doing unnecessary heart procedures that it said risked the health of eight patients and caused one man to die after repeated shocks from a defibrillator that should not have been implanted. Five patients have filed malpractice suits in Travis County against Dr. Samuel J. DeMaio, chairman of a group that is building Lakeway's first hospital... The board alleges that DeMaio put more than 30 stents in one patient and more than 20 in the man who died.
hedgehog
(36,286 posts)The VA has such a data base, and there are some procedures which are less successful than far cheaper treatment with diet and medication!
mopinko
(70,208 posts)part of the establishment of best practices.
what a concept.
hedgehog
(36,286 posts)the opposition. It's going to cut into the gravy train for a lot of wealthy people!
mopinko
(70,208 posts)that and being told what to do by the black guy. i have a friend who is implementing the new school nutrition guidelines, and you would think people are being asked to shoot squirrels and raccoons every day.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)IggleDoer
(1,186 posts)The outcome would be very good.
Treating a non-disease would result in ... No disease. Mission accomplished.
hedgehog
(36,286 posts)such as loss of short term memory.
hue
(4,949 posts)Earth_First
(14,910 posts)I went to the emergency room after shortness of breath, and numbness in my shoulder...a clear EKG and blood work ruled out a heart attack, but the attending Dr. wanted to to an MRI "just to be sure..."
Mhmmm...
I had to sign a waiver that I refused the test before being released.
An MRI can costs hundreds, and my health insurance (if that's what you call it) has such a high deductable, I would have been responsible for 100% of it.
What a scam and what an absolute unnecessary risk these supposed medical professionals put people through...
bucolic_frolic
(43,281 posts)Because the doctor said so, I had to have it.
I balked. They pushed.
I paid.
CROOKS ABSOLUTE CROOKS!
MannyGoldstein
(34,589 posts)dollars". IIRC, when I last took a look a few years ago, angioplasties and imaging were the two huge profit centers in hospitals.
cbayer
(146,218 posts)I am glad to see action taken to stop it.
bucolic_frolic
(43,281 posts)Let's hope this is just the beginning.
Dental X-rays, blood tests, you name it.
When you're 40 the dentists want to cut your teeth off at the gum line and
crown it.
An inlay, or inlay-onlay, would suffice at 1/3 the cost.
When you're 65-70, uh-oh, there's decay under the crown.
We have to recrown it, with root canal this time. Let's lengthen the crown too,
at $3500.
By the time you're 85-90, the roots are decaying, let's extract the teeth, you might
get some bacteria in your blood.
ALL THIS COULD BE AVOIDED by going with the minimal procedure at age 45. If you delay
the crown until 70, you won't need root canals, extractions when you're 85. You'lll never
need them.
The entire escapade is UNNECESSARY.
hedgehog
(36,286 posts)with mine. It may depend on how they're taught.
bucolic_frolic
(43,281 posts)A dentist experienced in crowing with metal crowns will never
opt for porcelain only crowns
nor advise bonding with porcelain veneer.
Inlays are becoming hard to find,
and inlay-onlay all but impossible.
It's a network. They all have their specialty, they are overseen
by regional dental boards that scratch each other's backs
Beware being a self-pay patient. You'll pay full retail price, no
negotiating power like those covered by dental insurance.
Some accept what dental insurance will pay, some don't.
It's unregulated as far as I can tell.
lovuian
(19,362 posts)lets face it America
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)There are a LOT of guys in their mid 50s who are wearing diapers.
hedgehog
(36,286 posts)people screamed about rationing!
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)hedgehog
(36,286 posts)gave a better chance of survival than mastectomy, but mastectomies are still demanded by patients.
can't find the original article, but more info here:
http://www.dslrf.org/breastcancer/content.asp?CATID=0&L2=3&L3=2&L4=4&PID=&sid=165&cid=65
IggleDoer
(1,186 posts)... If the only tool in your tool chest is a hammer, suddenly everything looks like a nail.
azurnoir
(45,850 posts)only very rarely do MD's from the same state testify or make statements against each other
Grins
(7,228 posts)24+ heart operations are OK, but don't you even think about an abortion that might save your life, or getting a prescription for emergency contraception after a rape. No, no, no, no, no. That would be wrong.
The Catholic Church should not be running any hospitals or pharmacies.
DainBramaged
(39,191 posts)I was transported to one hospital for the cardiologist to 'check' my heart to determine if I needed a stent, doing the dye and balloon , then had me transported to another nearby hospital that he was allowed to put stents in to put one in. Turned out I have the largest steel stent they make because my arteries are so large.
The scumbag never even came to see me. Plavix for the rest of my life.
When I went to his office to follow up, I saw a junior cardiologist because 'mine' was too busy to see me.
Fucking scumbag.
He double dipped the insurance company and put me in jeopardy twice. My current cardiologist said I could have been treated with medication and rest.
My cholesterol is now 147 (as of Wednesday)