It is becoming increasingly apparent that many doctors are making big money from placing unneeded heart stents. Interventional cardiologists around the country have been prosecuted and sued for placing heart stents into the arteries of patients who did not need them. These doctors make big profits in placing the unneeded stents into unsuspecting patients.
The extent of the problem is difficult to ascertain. Some interventional cardiologists have indicated that it is prevalent. However, coworkers who most assuredly must know the identities of the individuals engaging in this substandard, if not criminal behavior, are typically tight-lipped. Presumably, these coworkers are reluctant to step forward for fear that it could jeopardize their livelihoods. Hospitals with whom these cardiologists have staff privileges very rarely acknowledge any problem. Not only is unneeded angioplasty profitable for the hospital, but public acknowledgment could lead to many lawsuits, which could have significant financial repercussions.
Last year, the United States Senate Committee on Finance conducted an investigation into this problem. The Committee initiated the inquiry based on reports that cardiologist Mark Midei, M.D. from St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson, Maryland implanted approximately 600 stents that were not medically necessary.
The Committee discussed the profits derived by Dr. Midei in connection with each procedure, as well as the concomitant financial benefit to the hospital.
The Committee found that St. Joseph billed public and private insurers more than $6.6 million for the 585 unnecessary stent procedures performed by Dr. Midei between 2007 and 2009. This translates to over $11,000 per unnecessary procedure. Although the report does not indicate whether there was a separate charge by Dr. Midei or whether his fee was incorporated, it is evident that these procedures were profitable.
On November 9, 2010, St. Joseph Hospital reached a settlement with the federal government agreeing to pay 22 million dollars to settle federal claims that it engaged in a decade-long kickback scheme with Dr. Midei’s cardiology group.
In addition to the doctors and hospitals, the medical device companies have a major financial incentive in their stents being used. In the Midei case, many of the stents were manufactured or supplied by Abbott Laboratories.
The Committee found that it is common practice for medical device companies to collaborate with physicians and to cultivate top volume cardiologists. In fact, after Dr. Midei was barred from practicing at St. Joseph due to implanting patients with unnecessary stents, Abbott began paying Midei consulting fees.
If you believe that you are the victim of a doctor implanting unnecessary cardiac stents, call Attorney Mark Haak.
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