A New Mexico hospital and physician are facing allegations they teamed with an international biomedical technology company to implant unnecessary devices into patients, according to a Las Cruces Sun-News report.
According to the lawsuit, MountainView Regional Medical Center in Las Cruces, Demosthenis Klonis, DO, and Biotronik allegedly teamed together for unnecessary implantations to increase profits.
From 2006 through 2009, MountainView, a 168-bed hospital owned by Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems, allegedly billed more than $10 million from Dr. Klonis' patients for invasive procedures. An attorney for the plaintiffs, a local couple, claimed Dr. Klonis implanted more pacemakers than any other physician at MountainView and more balloon pumps than all other MountainView physicians combined.
An attorney representing the plaintiffs said 34 people allegedly received unnecessary implantations, according to the report.
The suit says Dr. Klonis' contract with MountainView expired in 2010, and he then moved to Santa Fe.
MountainView officials did not provide comment to the Las Cruces Sun-News.
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