In attempt to discredit a lawsuit brought by three employees, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center officials said its system of paying physicians is both legal and commonly used within the industry, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
According to a lawsuit filed in 2012 by William Bookwalter, MD, Robert Sclabassi, MD, PhD, and Anna Mitina, the hospital allegedly gave certain surgeons a 30 percent bonus after meeting an undisclosed quota of overly complex procedures, creating a culture that seemed to value revenue over patient safety. The plaintiffs claim the compensation packages allegedly violated provisions of the False Claims Act. The lawsuit was unsealed in July. It claims allegations occurred between 2006 and 2012.
While UPMC paid the government $2.5 million in July to settle the allegations in part, the former employees are pursuing remaining claims in civil court.
In a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, UPMC officials said its physician compensation packages, which include a base work rate plus a productivity bonus, are exempted from a federal statute prohibiting physicians from receiving financial benefits from patient referrals, according to the article.
Officials also said the lawsuit failed to identify when the alleged illegal referrals were made, what services they covered and which of the 13 UPMC neurosurgeons named in the lawsuit made the referrals, according to the article.
The motion to dismiss also stated that the lawsuit did not contain "allegations that specific patients received medically unnecessary procedures or any allegations of fact that would distinguish a medically necessary use of a surgical technique from an unnecessary one," according to the article.