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.