Becker's ASC Review

43 HEALTHCARE NEWS AdventHealth faces blowback from resident's controversial social media posts By Emily Rappleye A ltamonte Springs, Fla.-based Adven- tHealth continues to field criticism online for the social media posts of resident Jay Feldman, DO, weeks aer an Or- lando Sentinel report shed light on the story. e incident raises the question of how much responsibility hospitals and health systems should have for the social media posts of the physicians they employ and train, as well as what organizations can do if they find ques- tionable social media posts from staff. e Orlando Sentinel story posted Dec. 14 detailed Dr. Feldman's controversial presence on social media, which included endorsements for supplements and other health-related products. Dr. Feldman also posted about pa- tients. One tweet read: "Just did my first death pronouncement. Opening a dead persons [sic] eyes and staring into them is the most insane thing ever," according to the Orlando Sentinel. Dr. Feldman's social media presence first came into question by Sarah Mojarad, a professor at University of Southern California in Los Angeles, in 2017, according to the Or- lando Sentinel. Ms. Mojarad said on Twitter she used Dr. Feldman's social media presence as a tool to teach medical students about online professionalism. Amy Pavuk-Gentry, the health system's direc- tor of external communications provided Becker's the following statement about Dr. Feldman: "When we learned of the social media posts, we took several swi measures to address the situation and continue to investigate the matter. Our medical trainees are held to the highest standards and are expected to cultivate an environment of inclusion, safety and trust among our patients and greater community. e posts are not a reflection of AdventHealth, our mission, values or standards." n Philadelphia hospital bankruptcy leaves 1,000 physicians scrambling By Ayla Ellison H ahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia filed for bankruptcy and closed last year. The aftershocks are still affecting the nearly 1,000 physicians who worked at the hospital when it shut down, ac- cording to The Wall Street Journal. American Academic Health System acquired Hahnemann from Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare in January 2018. Under Tenet's ownership, Hahnemann residents and physicians had insurance coverage that protected them from medical malpractice lawsuits, including those filed years after the alleged injury. After the acquisition, AAHS switched to a cheaper type of coverage that only shields physicians against malpractice lawsuits filed during the policy period, according to the report. Many of the residents and physicians affected by Hahnemann's bankruptcy and closure have secured new positions at other hospitals. When the malpractice insurance provided by Hahnemann expires in a few weeks, the physicians have two choices: buy their own malpractice coverage or risk losing their medical licenses because they don't have insurance to protect them from claims arising out of their work at Hahnemann. Insurance policies to shield physicians from malpractice claims cost thou- sands of dollars. The quotes one physician received ranged from $35,000 to $65,000, he told The Wall Street Journal. In court documents filed Jan. 2, Hahnemann's lawyers argue the hospital is not required to provide malpractice coverage and that it doesn't have the funds to do so. The judge presiding over the bankruptcy case has de- manded Hahnemann explain why the case shouldn't be converted from a Chapter 11 bankruptcy into a Chapter 7. A hearing in the bankruptcy case is scheduled for Jan. 6. n Hospital acquisitions hurt patient experience, study suggests By Mackenzie Bean H ospital acquisitions are linked to worse patient experience and do not improve care quality, suggest the findings of a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine. For the study, researchers analyzed Medicare claims and Hospital Compare quality data for more than 2,200 hospitals between 2007 and 2016. Of these hospitals, 246 were acquired by another hospital or health system between 2009 and 2013. Researchers discovered a modest decline in patient experience scores among recently acquired hospitals. They also found no signs that hospital acquisitions led to improved quality scores. Acquired hospitals demonstrat- ed no significant changes in 30-day readmission or mortality rates. The study findings contradict a common argument many hospital execu- tives use to justify mergers and acquisitions: that they will improve quality performance, reports The Wall Street Journal. n

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