CMC names Pittsburgh law firm to probe how it handled controversial surgeon
Oct. 13—A Pittsburgh law firm will take several months to investigate how Catholic Medical Center handled the performance of a heart surgeon and complaints from fellow doctors and staff, the hospital announced Thursday.
Meanwhile, a legislative panel on Monday is expected to vote on suggested changes to state law to make it more likely that a doctor's disciplinary record is made public.
The law firm of Horty, Springer & Mattern will produce a report for the Manchester hospital's board of trustees that will include its findings and recommendations for improvement.
It will review general hospital policies as well as specific issues related to now-retired Dr. Yvon Baribeau, who ultimately made at least 20 malpractice payouts in New Hampshire cases. (CMC spokeswoman Lauren Collins-Cline said "Dr. B was presented with 17 threatened malpractice claims at one time, by one law firm, after he retired" in 2019.)
The law firm "has the discretion to go where they feel is appropriate," said Pamela Diamantis, vice chair of CMC's board of trustees, who will lead a special board committee to assist in the external review.
"They will not reexamine the details of any specific medical procedure" that Baribeau performed, she said.
Asked about looking at Baribeau-specific issues at CMC, she said in an email: "We anticipate that Horty Springer will examine the current and past policies, procedures, medical credentialing and peer review of CMC. As part of that, Horty Springer has the latitude to examine how complaints or the review process of certain cases were handled."
In September, The Boston Globe reported on the abnormally high number of malpractice accusations brought against Baribeau, who was a marquee name at the Manchester hospital until he retired.
Walker subsequently sent a memo to employees criticizing the Globe's reporting as one-sided. The Globe said it stood by its stories.
Allegations against Baribeau were part of a whistleblower lawsuit filed in 2018 by another former CMC cardiologist.
Last February, the Union Leader reported on the settlement of that whistleblower suit. The suit included details of serious complications following Baribeau's surgeries, as well as allegations of "kickbacks" paid to the hospital for referring patients to a particular doctor.
The Union Leader last month also documented how other states give more information to the public about New Hampshire doctors than New Hampshire's own Board of Medicine.
CMC wouldn't guarantee that the law firm's report would be released to the public.
"I cannot say exactly what format will be shared publicly," Diamantis said. "We anticipate having a dialogue about the findings with the state, CMC employees and the community."
CMC's announcement Thursday "is a proactive review to ensure CMC is in alignment with best practices to support the work of the hospital and provide the best possible outcomes to our patients and the community CMC serves," Diamantis said.
The special hospital committee has four members, including recently appointed hospital trustees Matt Albuquerque and Grace Tung. Tom Donovan, retired director of charitable trusts for the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office, will serve on the committee as an independent member. No one from the hospital administration or medical staff is on the committee.
Legislative action
Meanwhile, Rep. Jeffrey Salloway, who chairs a legislative panel investigating whether the New Hampshire Board of Medicine needs to share more information publicly about doctors, expects that members will offer recommended changes to state law.
"My own feeling is that disciplinary actions by hospitals with regard to physicians should be reported to the Board of Medicine, and the Board of Medicine should investigate and determine which ones of those disciplinary actions should be made public," Salloway said in an interview Thursday.
He has been discussing the issue with medical and legal people as well as those connected with other state boards.
"A lot of business of the Legislature gets done in the corridors, not in committee," Salloway said. "Members of the committee are talking in the corridors."
The meeting is slated for 1 p.m. Monday in the Legislative Office Building in Concord.
Rep. Mark Pearson, another subcommittee member, said suggested changes in the law are expected to be considered Oct. 28 by the joint legislative Health and Human Services Oversight Committee, which he chairs.
A request to the Office of Legislative Services to have a bill drafted could come later this year.
Pearson said he is talking this week with various people involved in the doctor disciplinary process, including CMC's chief executive.
Pearson is trying to balance how to offer more information to the public while protecting doctors and hospitals, including "where the doctor is a good 'cowboy,' that is, one willing to take on impossible cases and did a solid job, but the patient died" and would have died anyway.
"How do we craft the rules? I am saying to them all: Suggest language," Pearson said. "My sense is everyone wants to do this, but we are straining for language."
