Patients and Doctors Demand Protection for Truth-Tellers

   (2)  Covers VA and all other civil service government doctors

  (3)  Strives to get legislative history that includes peer review

   (4)  Scientific Freedom protects any federally funded research

 Organizers note that medical truth-tellers must be protected so that the public can be confident in the integrity of hospitals. “Without truth tellers like Dr. Patrick Campbell of Redding California, no one would have ever known that Tenet HMO was performing thousands of unnecessary heart surgeries. Tenet put profit before patients.” Dr. Murtagh continued. “Healthcare fraud costs this nation billions, and leads to loss of life. As a physician, I find this intolerable."

Mr. Tom Devine, Esq., leader of the Government Accountability Project (GAP) made clear. “The WPA is the most important immediate step we can take to protect patients and doctors. But this is just the first step. We have a string of bills in the pipeline to protect medical whistleblowers, including a corporate bill for medical whistleblowers: We are committed to protecting medical truth tellers who work in both the federal and private sectors.”  

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Other leaders of the group noted that the federal government is by far the biggest player in healthcare, and federal protections would go far to help doctors even at private hospitals. “Virtually every hospital receives important federal funding,” continued Dr. Moore. “No hospital should continue to receive a dime of federal money until they comply with all federal regulations. Thus, the WPA will have far reaching effects on all patients and doctors who have any affiliation with virtually any hospital.”  

By cutting fraudsters off from federal money, we can and must protect patient care. People's lives are at stake. No more profit before patients.  We urge newspapers everywhere to reprint this article, and for all citizens to join this campaign. We need everyone! No federal dollars without real accountability. Good faith is the essential prerequisite for public support.

Semmelweis, GAP, IAW and others urge all citizens to reprint this article everywhere, and to join the fight for better hospital safety. Please contact the following immediately:

Further supporting materials are available on the legislative page of GAP’s website,www.whistleblower.org, or the website of the Make It Safe Coalition, www.makeitsafecampaign.org. GAP legal director Tom Devine (202-408-0034, ext. 124,tomd@whistleblower.org) can answer questions or provide more focused research. GAP summer associates Shanna Devine and Natalie Gonzales, who can be reached at ext. 127 or the same email address, are available for liaison, introductory briefings, and requests for more research.