Becker's ASC Review

92 HEALTHCARE NEWS Indiana surgeon sues to break up IU Health's alleged 'monopoly' on primary care and vascular surgery By Laura Dyrda T he only independent vascular surgeon in Southern Indiana alleged in a lawsuit that IU Health's monopoly on primary care physicians and vascular surgeons in Bloomington is anti-competitive and lowers care standards. Ricardo Vasquez, MD, a Bloomington- based independent vascular surgeon, filed a lawsuit against Indianapolis- based IU Health June 11 aer the health system acquired nearly all primary care physicians in Southern Indiana and allegedly restricted referral patterns to specialists within the IU Health network. e lawsuit also alleges IU Health employs 75 percent of vascular surgeons in Bloomington and can direct where surgeries are performed. "IU Health's control over primary care services forces patients to see IU Health employed vascular surgeons to their detriment, and sacrifices patients' con- tinuity of care," the lawsuit alleges. "IU Health charges more for patients to see these unfamiliar vascular surgeons — raising prices to consumers and payers — patients receive lower quality care, and patients cannot receive certain vas- cular surgery services all together from the IU Health vascular surgeons." Dr. Vasquez previously had privileges at Bloomington Hospital, part of the IU Health network, but also took cases to a competing hospital and Indiana Spe- cialty Surgery Center, which competes directly with an IU Health-affiliated ASC. He alleges Bloomington Hospital im- properly revoked his privileges in April 2019 because he took cases outside of the IU Health network and opened an office-based laboratory instead of using IU Health's outpatient vascular services. In January 2020, IU Health stopped credentialing Dr. Vasquez as a participating provider within the IU Health Plan. e health system then transferred or referred Dr. Vasquez's former patients to IU Health's Method- ist Hospital in Indianapolis, a move Dr. Vasquez said increased the cost of care and reduced quality. Prices are higher at Methodist than Bloomington, the lawsuit alleges, and the additional time it takes to transfer patients from the local facility to India- napolis could be life-threatening. Dr. Vasquez also accused the health sys- tem and Daniel Handel, MD, chief medi- cal officer of IU Health, of spreading false statements about him and filing "meritless complaints" with the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency and Indiana attorney general against him last year. Neither agency investigated the complaints. Dr. Vasquez asked the court to prevent IU Health and IU Health Bloomington from enforcing an internal referral policy that prohibits its primary care physicians from referring to vascular surgeons outside of its network. e lawsuit also seeks to break up the health system's monopoly over primary care services, and Dr. Vasquez requested payments for compensatory damages and lost income aer being excluded from the IU Health referral network. n Physicians who post COVID-19 vaccine misinformation may lose license, medical panel says By Jackie Drees T he Federation of State Medical Boards warned July 29 that physi- cians and other healthcare profes- sionals could be at risk of losing their medical licenses if they spread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on social media, online and in the media. FSMB, a nonprofit that represents all U.S. state medical boards, said any clinicians who create or spread vaccine misinfor- mation or disinformation risk disciplinary action by state medical boards, includ- ing suspension or revocation of their medical license, according to a statement emailed to Becker's Hospital Review. "Due to their specialized knowledge and training, licensed physicians possess a high degree of public trust and there- fore have a powerful platform in society, whether they recognize it or not," FSMB said. "They also have an ethical and professional responsibility to practice medicine in the best interests of their patients and must share information that is factual, scientifically grounded and consensus-driven for the betterment of public health." In July, President Joe Biden called out social media platforms like Facebook for allowing vaccine misinformation to spread on its services, claiming that dis- information about the vaccines is "killing people," according to CNBC. FSMB's statement comes as the country grapples with an uptick in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. As of Aug. 13, national cases were up 882.8 percent from the lowest average in June 2021, and just 50.8 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. About 97 percent of hospitalized CO- VID-19 patients aren't vaccinated, accord- ing to the report. n

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