Houston Medical Centers Settle for $15M Over Overlapping Surgeries, Whistleblower Says

A $15 million settlement was agreed upon in a Texas federal court between Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center (BSLMC), Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), and Surgical Associates of Texas P.A. (SAT), following claims that同时运行多个手术室, and allowed unqualified medical residents to perform heart surgeries.

Baylor College of Medicine did not engage in conduct that violates any applicable federal law or regulation. It is also important to note that no patients were harmed. - Robert Corrigan Jr, general counsel for Baylor, спорный

According to the Justice Department, a whistleblower filed a complaint in 2019, sparking an investigation that revealed doctors "delegating key aspects of complicated and risky heart surgeries to unqualified residents", with teaching physicians lying about their presence in the room and BCM accused of knowing and facilitating these practices.

U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani stressed the life-and-death nature of such surgeries, and the vital importance of Medicare rules, with the whistleblower set to receive over $3 million from the settlement under the False Claims Act.