A cardiologist who holds medical privileges at Cape Cod Hospital is suing the hospital, saying he was defamed and fired from his full-time position after raising concerns about ethics and safety in cardiac care.
Dr. Richard Zelman, who was medical director of the hospital’s Heart and Vascular Institute, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Barnstable Superior Court against Cape Cod Hospital, parent company Cape Cod Healthcare, and CEO Mike Lauf.
He said they “placed profit above all else” in ways that, in his view, compromised patient safety.
Zelman alleges that Lauf prohibited the use of a particular medical device on patients whose insurance plans reimbursed at a lower rate than others. The device, called Sentinel, is designed to reduce stroke risk during heart-valve replacement.
The insurance plans were managed-care plans, such as Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care, he said.
In addition, Zelman contends that he reported incidents of “dangerous care” by two cardiac surgeons, and that patients died in those cases.
He said the hospital failed to take action to protect patients and retaliated against him and other whistleblowers.
Zelman is an interventional cardiologist, meaning he does catheter-based treatments — such as angioplasty and placement of stents — but not surgery.
Cape Cod Healthcare denies all of the allegations.
In a written statement, the company said it particularly denies any claims of retaliation against Zelman and denies failing to take action, “when appropriate, to continue to improve the quality of the Hospital’s cardiac care and services.”
The hospital said it values its physicians, nurses, and other staff who care for cardiology patients.
“The allegations are a disservice to the hard work of these professionals,” it said.
The hospital said it will defend the case vigorously.
