A former director of medical staff services at Utica, N.Y.-based Mohawk Valley Health System is suing the system, claiming her termination was retaliation for whistleblowing, the Observer-Dispatch reported Dec. 6.
Karina Mejias, MD, started her position as director on Jan. 8 and was terminated in early April, according to the lawsuit. Her role was to oversee the medical staff and ensure compliance with regulations, including verifying that staff were properly credentialed. On Feb. 26, she discovered that seven employees in the cardiothoracic surgery group, including some physician assistants, were practicing without proper credentials, but were performing procedures that were billed to Medicare, Medicaid and private health plans. She then reported the issue to health officials. Dr. Mejias alleged that after making the report, a campaign of retaliation began, including canceled meetings, sudden changes in attitude from senior staff, her exclusion from follow-up on the credentialing issues and her eventual termination due to a "business decision."
The lawsuit states that after Dr. Mejias' departure, a memo was sent to hospital staff on June 6 stating that physician assistants could no longer perform invasive procedures. On June 10, another memo announced that the quality department was reviewing and updating credentialing for physician assistants.
A health system spokesperson told Becker's that it eliminated a number of management roles, including the role of director of medical staff, earlier this year as part of a cost-saving restructuring. It also stated that the credentialing issue involved errors in documentation in the provider privileges process, which were corrected and audited as soon as identified. The system emphasized that no providers lacked qualifications to treat patients.