Whistleblower offers warning as hospitals hire more physicians
Kaiser Health News (10/8) reports that a third of physicians “now work directly for hospitals or for practices with at least partial hospital ownership, estimates the American Medical Association.” Dr. Michael Reilly, a Florida surgeon who filed a whistleblower lawsuit against Broward Health for engaging in “improper financial relationships” with physicians, is worried that this trend will lead to higher health costs and worse care for patients. According to the article, not “only does hospital employment ‘dramatically’ boost chances that a doctor will refer to that hospital, but it also raises odds that patients will end up at a higher-cost, lower-quality facility, finds a recent study from Stanford University researchers.”
