Becker's Hospital Review

132 CMO / CARE DELIVERY Kaiser Permanente physician loses medical license for alleged affair with patient By Alyssa Rege T he Medical Board of California re- voked the license of a Kaiser Perma- nente Santa Rosa (Calif.) Medical Center OB-GYN physician in early Feb- ruary aer learning he entered into a sex- ual relationship with a patient, who later became a nurse at the hospital's labor and delivery unit. Here are seven things to know.. 1. e medical board announced the re- vocation of Austin Kooba's, MD, medical license Feb. 21. e revocation went into effect Feb. 8. 2. According to the medical board, Dr. Kooba engaged in a relationship with the unidentified patient from October 2013 to June 2014. In February 2014, the patient learned she was pregnant with Dr. Kooba's child. In an attempt to hide the woman's pregnancy from his then-wife, Dr. Kooba prescribed the patient a drug to induce a miscarriage. 3. Aer the abortion, the patient claimed their relationship began to deteriorate, and proceeded to report the affair to her super- visors at Kaiser Permanente, according to the medical board. "e inappropriate relationship between Dr. Kooba and his patient is an egregious violation of the law and especially concern- ing to the board," said Kimberly Kirchmeyer, executive director of the Medical Board of California. 4. Dr. Kooba could not be reached for com- ment by the Argus Courier. However, an at- torney for Dr. Kooba told the publication he is considering appealing the case, stat- ing, "e administrative process did not result in truth and justice." 5. A spokesperson for Kaiser Permanen- te told the Argus Courier Dr. Kooba was placed on administrative leave in January 2017, and has been barred from seeing Kaiser Permanente patients since then. e spokesperson did not specify if Dr. Kooba was still part of the Kaiser Permanente medical group. "Because of state confidentiality and due process laws, we cannot comment on any ongoing internal proceedings regarding Dr. Kooba," the spokesperson said. 6. Kaiser Permanente released its own statement Feb. 21, stating the health system "takes this matter extremely seriously and fully cooperated with the California Medi- cal Board in its investigation." 7. The case was reportedly brought to the medical board's attention after for- mer California Attorney General Kama- la Harris filed a complaint against Dr. Kooba in December 2016, according to the Argus Courier. n How New Jersey's busiest ED slashed opioid prescriptions by 58% By Brian Zimmerman P aterson, N.J.-based St. Joseph's Health System, which runs the state's busiest emergency department, achieved a 58 percent decline in opioid prescriptions within a year of implementing an opioid reduction program, according to NPR. The health system launched its Alternatives to Opiates pro- gram at Paterson-based St. Joseph's University Medical Center in January 2016. At the time, the program represented the first of its kind in the U.S., according to St. Joseph's. The program relies on alternative pain treatments such as lidocaine patches, numbing agents injected into nerves and nonopioid pain med- icine like acetaminophen to address lingering pain. "There is a complete change in philosophy, a complete change in culture in the department," Mark Rosenberg, DO, emergen- cy medicine chair at St. Joseph's and one of the architects behind the program, told NPR. Dr. Rosenberg said physicians from other hospitals in nearby areas have asked him why drug users from his area are coming to their EDs. Dr. Rosenberg told NPR he tells these physicians it's "because they're not go- ing to get opioids at our ED unless they're absolutely needed." The program has encountered some difficulties with regards to cost, forcing providers to work with pharmacists to find more affordable alternative nonopioid treatments. "The insurance companies don't embrace all the alternative treatments and instead would rather frequently have us pre- scribe opioids because they tend to be inexpensive and readily available," Dr. Rosenberg told NPR. Still, the success of the program has spurred other health sys- tems, such as Aurora, Colo.-based UCHealth, to launch opioid reduction programs modeled after St. Joseph's in their own EDs, according to NPR. n The Joint Commission names new chief nurse executive: 5 points By Anuja Vaidya T he Joint Commission tapped Cheryl L. Hoying, PhD, RN, to serve as executive vice president of customer relations and chief nurse executive. Here are five points. 1. Dr. Hoying formerly served as senior vice president of patient services at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. 2. She also served as patient care ser- vices administrator and administrative director at Columbus-based Ohio State University Medical Center and vice pres- ident for patient care services at Greene Memorial Hospital in Xenia, Ohio. 3. She is a fellow of the American Acad- emy of Nursing and American College of Healthcare Executives. 4. She is a past president and current board member for American Organiza- tion of Nurse Executives, and she won AONE's Prism Diversity Award. 5. Dr. Hoying earned her PhD in adminis- tration from the University of Cincinnati. n

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