Detroit Medical Center cardiologists say demotions were act of retaliation
The Detroit Medical Center has removed three cardiologists from leadership positions over what the hospital system claims are conduct violations but the doctors say is punishment for raising concerns about patient safety and quality of care.
Another cardiologist and manager, Ted Schreiber, MD, resigned from the staff after an internal investigation of complaints that he also may have violated conduct standards, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Schreiber is no longer on the staff at DMC but the other three cardiologists will continue to see patients there—they’ve just been fired from their administrative leadership roles. Mahir Elder, MD, one of the remaining doctors, told the newspaper there was no misconduct and that the demotions were retaliation by Tenet Healthcare, DMC’s for-profit owner based in Dallas.
Elder said he and the other doctors raised concerns about problems at DMC including preventable deaths, staffing cutbacks affecting care, unskilled physicians performing operations and cost-cutting moves that compromised patient care.
“There is no misconduct,” Elder told the Free Press. “They are all about profit, and this is about retaliation."
Elder suggested that by demoting the doctors, Tenet might not have to self-report the cardiologists’ concerns to a federal compliance monitor.
DMC spokeswoman Tonita Cheatham didn’t share details of the alleged conduct violations with the Free Press but denied the demotions were an act of retaliation.
“The leadership transition is the result of a thorough review led by outside counsel into complaints from other physicians and team members,” she said. “The review found that our Standards of Conduct had been violated and we took appropriate action.”
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Daniel joined TriMed’s Chicago editorial team in 2017 as a Cardiovascular Business writer. He previously worked as a writer for daily newspapers in North Dakota and Indiana.