A New Jersey judge on Feb. 8 temporarily stopped Bethlehem, Pa.-based St. Luke's University Health Network from pursuing its plans to prevent at least eight physicians from working at its hospital in Phillipsburg, N.J., The Morning Call reports.
Four things to know:
1. St. Luke's implemented a rule in January that would prevent at least 11 surgeons with Allentown, Pa.-based Coordinated Health from practicing at the Phillipsburg hospital.
2. A spokesperson for St. Luke's told the publication officials came to the decision after finding that non-St. Luke's physicians did not perform enough surgeries, meet quality standards or share the system's goals.
"When surgeons perform surgeries so infrequently at our facilities, it makes it difficult for St. Luke's to monitor their quality and outcomes," said Sam Kennedy, a spokesperson for St. Luke’s, told the publication.
3. In response to the decision, Coordinated Health asked a judge to prevent the rule from going into effect, claiming the decision narrows patient choice to end competition.
"St. Luke's does not have the best interest of its patients in mind by prohibiting Coordinated Health physicians from its medical staff at Warren Hospital," a spokesperson for Coordinated Health told The Morning Call.
4. Both organizations will make their cases during a March 15 hearing.
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