The New York State Department of Health is investigating Bellevue Hospital’s use of unlicensed technicians to assist doctors in weight-loss surgeries.
Bellevue, a large public hospital in Manhattan, performs thousands of bariatric surgeries on low-income patients annually, as reported by The New York Times. Surgeons receive compensation based on the number of surgeries they conduct.
In order to expedite the process, bariatric surgeons at times requested equipment technicians from an external vendor called Surgical Solutions to participate in surgeries when they were short on qualified assistants. These technicians were not licensed to treat patients.
The state health agency has initiated an inquiry into the allegations, which may lead to a formal investigation.
“The department is looking into the matter,” said agency spokeswoman Danielle De Souza on Wednesday.
Bellevue spokesman Christopher Miller stated that the inquiry was preliminary and might not result in an actual investigation. “We are reviewing your allegations and will pursue action as appropriate if the facts warrant it,” he added.
Surgical Solutions did not respond to requests for comment.
The use of unlicensed technicians was one of several issues reported by Bellevue employees to The Times about the bariatric program. Two surgeons raced to see how many operations they could perform in a day, and anesthesiologists reduced pain medication doses to speed up patient recovery and clear operating rooms more quickly.
Bellevue even recruited patients from New York City’s Rikers Island jail complex who had virtually no chance of maintaining the required diets after surgery, leading to malnourishment for some.
Following the publication of the Times article, Health and Hospitals Corporation executives, which oversees Bellevue, emailed employees and stated that “the article left out important context.” They praised the bariatric surgery department for offering “comprehensive care and affordable, high quality surgical services” to low-income New Yorkers.