Nashville, Tenn.-based Hospital Corporation of America has agreed to pay the federal government and the state of Georgia $2 million to settle allegations medically unnecessary heart procedures were performed at an HCA hospital in Georgia.
The lawsuit was filed in 2010 under the qui tam provision of the False Claims Act against HCA, Fairview Park Hospital in Dublin, Ga., and two cardiologists. The case was unsealed last week.
Michael Fenster, MD, who was hired in 2008 as executive director of the cardiovascular program at Fairview Park, brought the lawsuit. He alleged physicians performed several unnecessary or substandard procedures, including diagnostic catheterizations and percutaneous coronary interventions, according to Phillips & Cohen, the law firm that represented Dr. Fenster.
Although HCA agreed to this settlement, there has been no admission or determination of liability in this case.