| In the 60 Minutes report below, the heart | | | | unethical business practices" in this 60 Minutes |
| surgeries were scheduled, and in many cases | | | | report on one of the company's California |
| performed on healthy individuals with NO heart | | | | hospitals accused of performing unnecessary |
| problems. This abuse came to the surface | | | | heart surgeries. Bradley's report on Tenet Health |
| through patients seeking other opinions, but | | | | Systems' Redding Medical Center was broadcast |
| unfortunately not before 167 people died and | | | | on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2003 at 7 p.m., ET. |
| hundreds more received unnecessary surgery. | | | | Tenet hospitals have been the subjects of federal |
| It is much more realistic for that to happen in | | | | proceedings in FL orida for patient endangerment |
| colon surgeries, the abuse is much more tricFL to | | | | and in California for substantiation of illegal |
| recognize and/or expose. With colon diseases, | | | | kickbacks to doctors; the federal government is |
| there is usually a way to "rationalize" the surgery | | | | suing Tenet for defrauding taxpayers. The FBI is |
| because there is almost always some | | | | now investigating Tenet's Redding Medical Center, |
| inflammations, tissue irregularity or other damage | | | | and two of the hospital's doctors for purportedly |
| which the doctor can identify. | | | | recommending and performing avoidable heart |
| The problem is that there is not any system of | | | | surgeries. Tenet says they first learned of the |
| accountability in place today. | | | | complaints in October 2002, when the FBI raided |
| We are taught to trust "the physician" or get a | | | | the hospital and confiscated thousands of files, |
| second opinion, and in almost all cases the second | | | | including those of 167 patients who died after |
| and/or third opinion can be as pro-surgery as the | | | | heart surgery. |
| first. | | | | Stark believes Tenet was aware of complaints |
| It is a lack of knowledge about other alternatives | | | | about the doctors before that day, as well as Dr. |
| for treatment and a fear of lawsuits. | | | | Chae Hyun Moon, who ordered the alleged |
| To state the evident, doctors are progressively | | | | surgeries to be unwarranted, complaints which |
| more finding ways to validate surgery in an effort | | | | were made for numerous years earlier to the FBI |
| to accommodate the lack of compensation from | | | | raid. |
| the insurance companies for little things as office | | | | "When [Tenet] has documented charges by |
| visits. | | | | people who have called [Moon's] practice to their |
| Doctor's are too often interested in bottom line | | | | attention time and time again, when their own |
| business to explore other options for their | | | | nurses...other physicians were complaining," Stark |
| patients. It is a fact which the patients in most | | | | tells Bradley, "It's pretty hard for somebody to |
| instances cannot bear to comprehend. | | | | say, 'Gee, we didn't know what was going on.'" |
| (CBS) Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) tells Ed Bradley | | | | Adds Stark, "These guys are the poster children |
| that executives at the nation's second largest | | | | for unethical business practices. |
| healthcare company are "poster children for | | | | |