A former Salem Health physician and deputy chief physician is suing the hospital, alleging retaliation for reporting fraudulent billing practices to hospital management.
Dr. Jefferson Lore filed a wrongful retaliation suit in U.S. District Court in Eugene on November 14. Lund Report.
Lore was first hired as a hospitality worker in 2016 and had received positive reviews from peers and performance through at least 2020, according to the complaint. Hospitalists are doctors who work in hospitals and provide general medical care to a variety of patients.
In the summer of 2019, Lore, who was assistant medical director, claimed to have heard from nursing staff that doctors were doing “fly-by rounds.” A procedure that never happened, according to the complaint.
The complaint also says doctors did not respond to nurses’ pages and some doctors were required to work long hours, up to 48 hours.
Loa claimed to have reported the matter to Salem Health’s medical director at the time and, after receiving no response, submitted the report to the company’s integrity department. The agency investigated the report, but Lore saw no remediation, according to the complaint.
“While we are unable to comment in detail on the pending litigation, all concerns raised by healthcare providers or staff will be thoroughly investigated and appropriate action will be taken as appropriate,” Salem Health said. spokeswoman Lisa Wood said in an email to the Salem Reporter.
All issues reported to Corporate Integrity will be investigated, she said.
When asked how the hospital ensures doctors spend enough time with each patient, Wood said it follows the rules and regulations of the medical staff when making rounds.
“This is an organizational expectation. In these practices, medical staff are guided by professional and ethical standards of patient care and are a fundamental component of provider performance evaluation,” said Wood.
Loa claims she was removed from a management meeting she previously attended after making this report.
“His co-workers became noticeably sober and walked away when he entered the room, excluding him from social events he had previously attended,” the complaint states.
Around this time, Lore claims to have heard doctors talking about dieting by fasting for 24- to 48-hour shifts. He brought this up at a September 2020 patient safety conference, according to the lawsuit.
Several of Dr. Lore’s colleagues were reportedly offended by the comment.
Slightly opposed their practices during Ramadan. Dr. Lore believed their complaint was a pretext,” the lawsuit said.
Loa, who is Filipino-American, claims she was asked to write an apology letter allegedly sent to hospital staff on Sept. 18, 2020.
“My intention when commenting on a donor’s alleged practice of prolonged intermittent fasting (“24-hour fasting”) is to , was to show that there are other factors that may affect patient safety. I didn’t do it,” he wrote in a letter included in the lawsuit.
In January 2021, he said he had been asked to resign as assistant medical director, citing his fasting comments as having lost the trust of his colleagues.
In April 2021, he claimed to have followed up with a “flyby rounding” report and submitted it to the Office of the Federal Inspector General.
Loa claims Salem Health fired him on February 22, 2022 without explanation or reason.
Lore reported the alleged retaliation to the Civil Rights Division of the Oregon Department of Labor and Industry in April 2021, the agency said.
Claims typically must be filed within one year of the alleged discrimination, but the Oregon BOLI will issue Loa a right to sue in March 2022 to engage Salem Health in pre-filing negotiations. In conjunction with this, we have extended the deadline for court filings and allowed him to file a lawsuit. Filed in November.
Loa seeks over $2.5 million for lost profits, economic damages, and non-economic damages.
“Dr. Loa constitutes a violation of federal and/or state laws, rules or regulations prohibiting patient chart falsification and billing, and the practice constitutes a substantial and material danger to public health.” You engaged in protected activity by reporting evidence that you reasonably believed there was, known as “fly-by rounding,” the lawsuit says.
Please contact reporter Abby McDonald. [email protected] or 503-704-0355.
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