Becker's ASC Review

19 ASC MANAGEMENT Surgeon sues to break up IU Health's 'monopoly' on primary care, 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 law- suit against Indianapolis-based IU Health June 11 aer the health system acquired nearly all primary care physicians in South- ern 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 em- ployed vascular surgeons to their detriment, and sacrifices patients' continuity 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 vascular 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 compet- ing hospital and Indiana Specialty Surgery Center, which competes directly with an IU Health-affiliated ASC. He alleges Bloom- ington Hospital improperly 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 cre- dentialing 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 Methodist 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 Indianapolis could be life-threatening. Dr. Vasquez also accused the health system and Daniel Handel, MD, chief medical 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 Patients 'raving' after migrating from Maryland hospital to ASC By Patsy Newitt A fter Lutherville, Md.-based Green Spring Station of Johns Hopkins Health Care & Surgery Center added outpatient service lines, patients who had previously received hospital-based procedures were impressed with the efficiency and service. Samantha Bell, the center's post-anesthesia care unit nurse manager, spoke with Becker's ASC Review on how her staff excelled in patient care when adding electro- physiology and total joint procedures. Question: What are you most proud of in the past year? Samantha Bell: I would say that I'm most proud of my team. I could not do any of this without them. I think it's one thing to say you're going to bring in a service line, or you're going to do something to achieve the goals of the ASC. Unless you have the support of your staff, you really can't do anything. I'm the most proud of their flexibility and their willing- ness to take on something new and be enthusiastic about it. They worked hard to provide excellent patient care. We've had a lot of patients in both services that have had procedures done in the hospital setting and then came to an ASC. They just always rave about the staff at the ASC and what a wonderful experience they've had. To think that you can give such quality care in such a short period of time compared to the amount of time they're spending with a patient in a hospital setting and be able to reach that high level of care is something I'm proud of. As a manager, this was an awesome learning experience. I feel honored and proud to work with these surgeons. It re- ally says a lot about what teamwork can do for the greater good. We're here for the patients. It's just amazing to watch everything sort of unfold and become so incredibly suc- cessful, especially in a short period of time. n

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