Becker's ASC Review

8 ASC MANAGEMENT 4 Kansas physicians resign from hospital over CEO salary, medical interaction concerns By Laura Dyrda F our Meade (Kan.) District Hospital physicians with concerns about the CEO's leadership and salary le the hospital, according to local news reports from KSCB and KAKE. e medical staff had previously taken issue with CEO Tara Ramlochan's half-million- dollar salary and her medical interactions with patients. Ms. Ramlochan is a nurse by training and joined the health system as the interim chief nursing officer in 2018 before being promoted to CEO. e four physicians who resigned in Septem- ber previously brought their concerns to the hospital's executive board, but their issues were not addressed. e former Meade District Hospital physicians aren't the only physicians to leave their hospital in the past few months; Southfield, Mich.-based Beaumont Health has also seen recent physician departures, which prompted more than 20 donors to send a letter to the board on Sept. 18 requesting action to address the clinical staff 's concerns. A survey of physicians and nurses raised is- sues with Beaumont's proposed merger with Advocate Aurora Health and have been un- nerved by medical staff loss. e letter asked hospital leaders to postpone the transaction until the clinicians' concerns were addressed. In another example, Zachary Sussman, MD, formerly of Physicians Premier ER, under- went a COVID-19 antibody test from his employer in May and was billed $10,984 a visit that included the test. While his insur- ance paid the bill, Dr. Sussman was shaken by the amount charged and resigned. "I have decided I can no longer ethically provide medical directorship services to the company," he wrote in his July 13 resigna- tion email, according to ProPublica. "If not outright fraudulent, these charges are at least exorbitant and seek to take advantage of pay- ers in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic." e pandemic is also placing stress on hospital-based physicians, especially those most at risk of contracting the virus. Some are retiring or leaving the hospital to avoid exposure to COVID-19, according to e Washington Post. Michael Peck, MD, an anesthesiologist, retired in April aer a 12- hour shi intubating COVID-19 patients. "I've never been this scared," he told e Post. "When it was over, I said to myself, 'is is crazy. I'm done.'…e environment was frightening." ASCs offer an alternative to hospitals for physicians weary of contracting the infection since surgery centers don't treat COVID-19 patients. In January, eight emergency room physi- cians quit Chicago-based Community First Medical Center over safety concerns related to supply shortages, staffing issues and equipment problems. e physicians then joined Little Company of Mary Hospital and Health Centers in Evergreen Park, Ill. n ASC surgeon is world's 1st to implant alert system for heart disease patients By Angie Stewart On Sept. 29, Kelly Tucker, MD, became the world's first physician to implant the AngelMed Guardian System. The AngelMed Guardian System is designed to track significant changes in the heart's electrical signal and alert high-risk patients of potential acute coronary syndrome events, including heart attacks or unstable angina. In a procedure that typically takes less than an hour with local anesthesia, Dr. Tucker implanted the AngelMed Guardian System at Pavilion Surgery Center in Orange, Calif. Pavilion Surgery Center is affiliated with Orange's St. Joseph Hospital and managed by Mission Viejo, Calif.- based Sovereign Healthcare. "The AngelMed Guardian represents a real game-changer in the management of coronary artery disease," said Dr. Tucker, who is director of electrophysiology at the Orange County Heart Institute and Research Center. "This is the first-ever surveillance tool for patients with a prior coro- nary event and has the potential to save countless lives and bring peace of mind to thousands of families." n North Dakota clinic paid $5.5M to settle allegedly illegal ASC arrangement By Angie Stewart B ismarck, N.D.-based Mid Dakota Clinic settled allegations that a financial arrangement with its wholly owned ASC violated the Anti-Kickback Statute, according to an Oct. 9 case summary. Law firm Constantine Cannon filed the whistleblower suit in 2017 on behalf of Jeffrey Neuberger, Mid Da- kota Clinic's former CEO. In Jeffrey Neuberger v. Mid Dakota Clinic, Mr. Neuber- ger alleged that all of Mid Dakota Clinic's physicians could make or influence referrals to the ASC, and de- spite knowing this arrangement was illegal, the clinic collected revenues from those referrals. Mid Dakota Clinic, along with its related real estate business and insurer, agreed in November 2019 to resolve the case for $4.15 million. Mr. Neuberger was awarded a portion of Mid Dakota Clinic's settlement with the federal government, as well as $1.3 million to cover legal expenses. The parties agreed in January 2020 to dismiss the case. n

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