A prominent pathologist at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Hospital, who was placed on administrative leave beginning in May amid misconduct allegations, has resigned his post, the physician and hospital confirmed to The Washington Post.
Hospital spokesperson Liz Vandendriessche also confirmed the resignation to Becker's but did not provide further information.
Jonathan Epstein, MD, resigned before Johns Hopkins determined whether allegations of "bullying" or "intimidating" behavior were founded, Ms. Vandendriessche said in an email to the Post. She did not provide information about the status of the inquiry.
Dr. Epstein was placed on administrative leave last year amid accusations that he pressured other physicians into providing second opinions to patients that agreed with diagnoses made by his wife, who is also a pathologist.
Dr. Epstein told the Post in an email this month that the hospital had officially "found no evidence of any professional misconduct (ie. no evidence of bullying)." Ms. Vandendriessche told the publication that the physician's assertion was false.
Regarding clinical care provided by Dr. Epstein, "Johns Hopkins Hospital conducted a review of Dr. Epstein's clinical care and did not identify any areas of concern," a statement Dr. Epstein told the Post he and the hospital agreed to in a legal document said, according to the physician.
Ms. Vandendriessche did not confirm the authenticity of the statement to the Post. According to the newspaper, the statement also said Dr. Epstein, who was the hospital's director of surgical pathology, chose not to renew his clinical privileges at the hospital because he decided in January to resign his faculty position at Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Epstein told the Post he resigned because physicians who had made "anonymous false allegations" against him were still there, and he "did not want to go back there to practice."
The publication reported Dr. Epstein's administrative leave and the bullying accusations against him in October — citing several interviews and a report from The Joint Commission it obtained. The Post's report noted allegations that Dr. Epstein pressured other physicians into providing second opinions to patients that aligned with diagnoses made by his wife, including a bladder case.
The Joint Commission report directed the hospital to address the physicians' concerns, and the hospital initiated an inquiry.
Read the Post's full report here.