Emergency Care Lacking in Hospitals

Our attorneys are increasingly reviewing cases where major surgical procedures are being performed at small physician-owned hospitals and surgical centers.
On January 10, 2008, the Washington Post revealed that the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, had issued a report concerning physician-owned specialty hospitals. The report concluded that most physician-owned speciality hospitals are poorly equipped to handle medical emergencies.
The report revealed that only 55% of the 109 physician-owned hospitals studied had emergency departments, and of those, the majority had only one bed. Fewer than a third of the hospitals had physicians on site at all times and 34% relied on dialing 911 to summon emergency medical assistance for patients who developed problems. Moreover, 7% of the hospitals failed to meet Medicare requirements that a registered nurse be on duty at all times and that at least one physician be on call or in the hospital.
Federal Medicare and Medicaid requirements do not require participating hospitals to have emergency departments, but do require they keep written policies for handling emergencies. They also cannot rely on summoning 911 services as a substitute for their own requirements of emergency care.
The issues concerning emergency care in physician-owned hospitals has been in the news recently. Last year, it was reported that a 44 year old truck driver went into respiratory arrest following elective surgery at a West Texas Hospital. The only recourse for the staff of the hospital was to call 911, which was done. But, by the time the man arrived at a larger hospital he was pronounced dead. Similarly, in 2005, it was reported that an 88 year old woman in recovery after elective back surgery suffered a heart attack after an injection of pain medication. Since no doctor was at the hospital, the nurses were forced to call 911. The lady was taken to a community hospital where she died later.