Doctors Working At Hospital Allegedly Performed Unnecessary Invasive Heart Procedures, Hospital Responds

The hospital admitted no wrongdoing.

Doctors associated with Saint Joseph London Hospital (now run by KentuckyOne Health) in London, Kentucky, allegedly conducted unnecessary cardiac procedures on patients. In 2014, the hospital entered a settlement agreement with the Justice Department involving Federal Health Care Fraud. The hospital admitted no wrongdoing.Saint Joseph London Hospital became a part of KentuckyOne Health in 2012. A representative of KentuckyOne Health agreed to answer some questions in writing regarding the relationship between Saint Joseph London Hospital and the individual cardiologists named in the whistleblower suit.The hospital also provided insight on the steps it took to insure that cardiologists employed by or associated with Saint Joseph London hospital are performing only medically warranted procedures on patients.Dr. Chatterjee was an independent physician with privileges at Saint Joseph London. There were agreements in place with Dr. Chatterjee's (and Dr. Anand's) practice to provide various professional services to the hospital.Dr. Chatterjee was an employee of the Saint Joseph medical group until October 16, 2013, at which time his employment agreement was terminated and his privileges at Saint Joseph London were also terminated.Dr. Chatterjee is an independent physician with privileges at Saint Joseph London. These privileges were reinstated in July 2017 based on recommendations by an independent hearing officer.Dr. Anand was an independent physician with privileges at Saint Joseph London. There were agreements in place with Dr. Anand's (and Dr. Chatterjee's) practice to provide various professional services to the hospital.Dr. Anand was an employee of the Saint Joseph medical group until October 16, 2013, at which time his employment agreement was terminated and his privileges at Saint Joseph London were also terminated.Dr. Anand is an independent physician with privileges at Saint Joseph London. These privileges were reinstated in July 2017 based on recommendations by an independent hearing officer.In February 2011, following a months-long internal investigation, Saint Joseph London self-reported to Federal authorities instances of interventional cardiology procedures that lacked adequate documentation to support the clinical indication for the procedures.The internal investigation was launched as a result of the hospital's own proactive and ongoing compliance reviews, and the hospital then self-reported to Federal authorities, one month prior to the whistleblower lawsuit (case no. 11-CV-81-GFVT).Saint Joseph London also fully cooperated in all subsequent government inquiries concerning the interventional cardiology procedures. Since then, the hospital has demonstrated clear action to address and prevent this issue from recurring, including monitoring, reporting and ongoing audits that exceed governmental requirements.In fact, in 2017 Saint Joseph London was recognized by the Accreditation for Cardiovascular Excellence as adhering to the highest quality standards for cardiovascular care.Watch all-new episodes of Whistleblower Fridays at 9/8c on CBS and CBS All Access