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May 22, 2008
Doctor and Reformers Demand Change
By James Murtagh
Doctors have formed a national association for good faith and integrity in medicine. Patients, taxpayers and citizens have an important stake in restoring good faith in medicine
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* Patrick Campbell MD - Provided evidence to the FBI that lead to the successful raid at Tenet's Redding Hospital, where 83% of cardiovascular surgeries were found to be unnecessary. Unfortunately, the Justice Department failed to reward him. Dr. Campbell sued and prevailed through a landmark court of appeal decision.* Roland Chalifoux DO - Neurosurgeon, President of the Semmelweis Society, who blew the whistle on competitors in Fort Worth Texas.* Michael Bennett - President of the Coalition for Patients' Rights (CPR). Mr. Bennett lost his father due to an infection he received at the hospital. Mr. Bennett is a nationally recognized patient safety advocate.
1. Launch a Government Accountability Office investigation to assess the vulnerability and extent of hospitals abusing the peer review process to retaliate against physician whistleblowers.2. Conduct oversight hearings for a public forum on any significant GAO findings. Collectively with our partners in this area, we have heard the stories of hundreds of physician whistleblowers whose careers have been ruined because they chose to advocate for patient safety or challenged inadequate care at hospitals. These individuals are ready and willing to bear witness with first-hand accounts of their experiences.3. Amend the HCQIA to help curb abuses of the peer review process. One possibility would be to add an affirmative defense of “whistleblower retaliation” to the HCQIA. A physician could then take this claim to an outside body, which could make a ruling as to whether whistleblower retaliation was a contributing factor in any employment decision. This type of independent review is necessary, and is similar to steps Congress is on the verge of taking to reform the security clearance process for national security employees.4. Pass H.R. 4047, the Private Sector Whistleblower Protection Streamlining Act of 2007. Introduced by Reps. Lynn Woolsey and Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, this legislation would streamline protections for all private sector employees, and protect physicians who are retaliated against for blowing the whistle on inadequate health care.5. Pass H.R. 4650, the Congressional Disclosures Act of 2007. The legislation, introduced by Rep. Al Wynn, would give federal workers, contractors, and any other employee of an organization that receive payments from the federal government, including hospitals, access to court when they are prosecuted or otherwise harassed for blowing the whistle directly to Congress.