While no additional cardiologists have officially been found to have performed procedures unnecessarily, the officials found that a number of other surgeons in the state performed stent procedures at significantly higher than average rates. On average, physicians who perform cardiac catheterization will place a stent 30 percent of the time, according to the report. The original physician under investigation, Mark G. Midei, MD, performed stents at twice that rate.
Dr. Midei performed many of the procedures at St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson, MD. The hospital reviewed patient records and identified 585 patients who received medically unnecessary stents from Dr. Midei. He left St. Joseph last year, and the hospital closed its investigation, according to the report.
State officials began looking into the practices of local cardiologists after catching wind of Dr. Midei’s actions. St. Joseph said the hospital’s status as an area referral center would make the facility more likely to perform stents at higher-than-average-rates.
State officials would not name the other cardiologists identified by the investigation but said they plan to review the cardiologists’ records going back five years, according to the report.
Read the Baltimore Sun’s report on Maryland cardiologists.
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