Veteran/Patient Loves VA Care but Not Care at the Cleveland Clinic
Air Force Colonel David Antoon wrote this in response to an attack on Nurse Practitioners mounted by a physician at the Cleveland Clinic. That attack appeared in the following article, very erroneously titled “At a VA hospital, the nurse might see you now — and boy, is the doctor displeased.” Colonel Antoon was the one who blew the whistle on patient safety at the Cleveland Clinic. The article in which the attack appeared was in response to a recommendation by the final report on the VA Commission on Care asking the VA to make better use of nurse practitioners. The VA is the largest employer of nurses in the US and already hires thousands of nurse practitioners. To see my report on the Commission report check out The American Prospect.
Here is Colonel Antoon’s comment to the article attacking nurse practitioners.
After suffering devastating surgical injuries at the Cleveland Clinic, performed by doctors in training in violation of my written consent (destroyed by the Clinic), and in the absence of the attending staff surgeon, I filed complaints with CMS which led to scores of violations of the Cleveland Clinic. (Google “Modern Healthcare Cleveland Clinic”) (Please note in this article that Cosgrove withdrew his name from VA consideration 3 hours after this article was published online 8am 7 June 21014.) I am permanently injured like a “staggering number” of Cleveland Clinic Urology patients. My doctor was not board certified, represented false credentials, was denied board certification by the American Board of Urology in 2011, and represented an Iowa Medical License to CMS — for which the Iowa Medical Board stated he did not meet their minimum requirements. CMS cited the Urology Department for having no credentialing of staff or residents and no privileging for use of da Vinci robot which was known to be defective and dangerous.
I, like so many, will never again step inside the Cleveland Clinic.
All of my follow up care has been at the VA medical center where I am seen and treated by a board certified physician. I am never treated like a lab rat for training purposes as I was at the Cleveland Clinic.
If Cosgrove and his panel is successful in privatizing the VA medical system to extract every bit of profit, veterans will suffer. Veterans receive high quality care, dedicated care, and do not have to fight and negotiate every billing as they do at the Cleveland Clinic. PS. Cleveland Clinic billed me $65K for three days in the hospital. Audit report and operating room logs show “my surgeon” was never present at any time during my hospitalization.
I trust nurses more than the doctors. And I trust the non-profit socialized VA medical system much more than the so called non-profit Cleveland Clinic which is purchasing nearly every hospital in NE Ohio as well as building $B facilities in Dubai and another facility in London. Wonder if Toby flies there in Cleveland Clinic’s Flight department aircraft. Perhaps he should purchase a B-767 like Trump to visit his expanding empire. He could post the paid for USNews logo on the tail. Gotta love non-profit!
I saw this comment to this link. If any of the allegations are true, i am very sad for Colonel David Antoon
https://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2016/10/cleveland_clinic_former_cancer_patient_long_legal_battle_appears_over_after_ohio_supreme_court_ruling.html
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Tobyandjihad
1 year ago
Jihad Kaouk, the Cleveland Clinic doctor is this case, falsely represented an Iowa Medical License on his CMS application. The Iowa Medical Board stated he did not meet their minimum requirements for an Iowa Medical license. Kaouk falsely stated under oath in court and to patients that he was board certified in his home country and “board eligible” by the American Board of Urology. The Arab Board of Urology and the American Board of Urology disputed his claims. Kaouk claimed to be a member of the AMA and FACS, disputed by both organizations. Kaouk represented to patients that he had performed 1000 open and 1000 robotic prostatectomies to patients. In the Gagliano malpractice case, he admitted he had performed fewer than 50 open while a resident and none since then, and only a few hundred robotic. He stated to CMS investigators that he did this surgery from start to finish. Audit report and OR Log, documents withheld by the Clinic, do not show his presence at any time. He was not present for surgical time out, refused to state the critical portions of this surgery on the surgeon’s attestation, and signed the same day review of consent which was also blank, seven weeks after the surgery. The op note is written in third person, is a copy and paste description of the surgery, falsely underreports blood loss and complications, written by a doctor-in-training, and remained unsigned for two years. After two failed requests for these records, the Ohio Medical Board was forced to resort to a subpoena. CMS surveys of this case and others found repeated Cleveland Clinic violations of informed consent, patients’ rights, medical records, credentialing, privileging, and even personally cited Toby Cosgrove. In Feb 2012 and again in May 2013, the Urology Department was cited for having no credentialing of staff or residents – and no privileging for staff or residents to use the da Vinci robot on patients. Kaouk was cited for performing concurrent major complex surgeries beginning within minutes of each other in the morning, again after lunch, and again the next morning. Evidence in the audit report and OR log suggest these surgeries were performed by non-credentialed, non-privileged, and unsupervised doctors in training and then illegally billed by the non-credentialed and non-privileged Kaouk. CMS cited the Clinic for not reporting six operating fires nor burn injuries to three patients, and concealing from a patient that a needle had indeed been left in him following surgery. Because of these CMS Condition Level and Immediate Jeopardy violations, CMS placed Cleveland Clinic on termination track for 19 months. (See Modern Healthcare “Cleveland Clinic cases highlight flaws in safety oversight” 2014.) Cosgrove’s conflicts of interest have been known for years: see “Ties to Industry Cloud a Clinic’s Mission” NYT 2005. Former CEO Loop, Cosgrove, and Kaouk have ties with Intuitive Surgical, conflicts of interest commensurate with the financial contributions given Justices on the Ohio Supreme Court. The ethical and criminal failures coupled with conflicts of interest and Ohio tort reform have greatly diminished the quality of care in this state. Cleveland Clinic is NOT what it claims to be.