News in brief - Feb. 20, 2006

Medical association awarded grant to study language access - Details of whistle-blower lawsuit against Medtronic made public - Doctor who helped set resident duty-hour standards wins award

Medical association awarded grant to study language access

The California Endowment, a private health foundation established to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved Californians, awarded the California Medical Assn. a $167,174 grant to study what physicians think about language access for limited English speaking patients.

In its grant proposal, the CMA said it would measure physicians' awareness of language access issues, their policy preferences and their willingness to change. To capture the physician perspective, the study will survey doctors before and after they participate in a physician session on language access.

The CMA said the findings would play a critical role in ensuring that future language access programs and policies are designed to work well for limited-English patients and their physicians.

Details of whistle-blower lawsuit against Medtronic made public

Evidence unsealed in January in a whistle-blower lawsuit against medical device maker Medtronic alleges that company officials improperly paid doctors millions of dollars in consulting fees and bribes to urge physicians to use spinal implants.

United States, et al v. Zdeblick, et al, filed in the U.S. District Court in Memphis, accuses Medtronic, 16 doctors and the clinics they are affiliated with of "special payments and treatment in return for their agreements to assist [Medtronic] in the unlawful promotion of its products among potential physician users."

The lawsuit, brought by former Medtronic employee Jacqueline Kay Poteet and filed on behalf of the federal government, also alleges violations of federal false claims and anti-kickback laws. Poteet's attorney, Andrew R. Carr Jr. of Memphis, said the Dept. of Justice was expected to join the lawsuit but had yet to do so. Until then, the doctors have not been served, he said.

The Indiana Spine Group, a named defendant in the case, said it had no knowledge of the lawsuit. Some doctors did not return calls or declined to comment for the story. Others were not available.

Carr said he had rejected a $40 million settlement offer from the government because it was "unreasonably low" and told them "the bribery behavior was continuing and had not ceased."

Rob Clark, Medtronic spokesman, did not comment on the allegations in the lawsuit citing ongoing litigation. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Memphis also declined to comment due to the pending lawsuit.

Doctor who helped set resident duty-hour standards wins award

D. David Glass, MD, who chaired the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education committee that oversaw the implementation of duty-hour standards for residents, has won the ACGME's John C. Gienapp Award.

The honor, named for the ACGME's first executive director, recognizes individuals for outstanding contributions to graduate medical education.

Under Dr. Glass' leadership, the duty-hour committee advised the ACGME board how to implement new standards that capped resident hours to an average 80 a week, with in-hospital call limited to 30 hours, including time for handoffs and education.

"Dr. Glass sets high standards for those interested in community and professional service," said David C. Leach, MD, the ACGME's executive director. "He is very committed to patient safety, quality education and bringing professional values into the new world."

Dr. Glass is a professor of anesthesiology and medicine at Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, N.H., and chair of the Dept. of Anesthesiology at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. In addition to chairing the ACGME's duty-hours committee from 2002 to 2004, Dr. Glass was a member of the ACGME's Residency Review Committee for Anesthesiology from 1992 to 1996, and has been a director on the ACGME board since 1996. He served as treasurer from 2001 to 2002, and chaired the Monitoring Committee from 2002 to 2003.