CMC will hire outside firm to review concerns over hospital
Sep. 15—Catholic Medical Center announced it would hire an outside firm to perform an independent review of certain areas following a newspaper's story that spotlighted problems with a doctor with at least 20 malpractice settlements.
Meanwhile, the state's Health and Human Services Oversight Committee on Friday will discuss setting up a subcommittee to review how transparent the New Hampshire Board of Medicine has acted in disclosing malpractice payouts by physicians.
CMC this week informed employees of its intent for an outside review.
"Because of our commitment to you and our community, we are in the process of engaging an outside firm to conduct a thorough, independent review of our clinical oversight and accountability, peer review, and reporting processes to make sure they are the best in the country," CMC President and CEO Alex Walker told employees in a memo.
"We are confident this review will affirm that our approach is in line with best practices for any hospital," Walker said. "If any opportunities are identified where we can do better, we promise you we will embrace those suggestions and share them with you."
The Boston Globe stories centered on the abnormally high number of malpractice claims brought against heart surgeon Yvon Baribeau, who was a marquee name at the Manchester hospital until his 2019 retirement.
Walker in an earlier memo to employees criticized the Globe's reporting as one-sided.
The Globe responded that it stood "behind our stories 100%" and that issues raised in Walker's earlier memo to CMC staff were discussed in detail.
In his latest email, Walker said "we want to encourage everyone to report a concern if they ever have one."
