Specifically, the complaint alleges, among other things, that the defendants submitted claims for medical procedures performed by Dr. Azmat in Satilla’s Heart Center that the physician was neither qualified nor properly credentialed to perform. As a result, at least one patient died and others were seriously injured.
The complaint states that Satilla placed Dr. Azmat on staff even after learning that the hospital where he previously worked had restricted his privileges as a result of a high complication rate on his surgical procedures. The complaint also states that after Dr. Azmat joined the Satilla staff, the hospital management allowed him to perform endovascular procedures in the hospital’s Heart Center even though he lacked experience in performing such procedures and did not have privileges to perform them.
The complaint further states that the nurses in Satilla’s Heart Center recognized that Dr. Azmat was incompetent to perform endovascular procedures and repeatedly raised concerns with hospital management. Despite the nurses’ complaints and Dr. Azmat’s high complication rate, Satilla’s management continued to allow him to perform endovascular procedures and to bill federal healthcare programs for these services.
This lawsuit was originally filed by Lana Rogers, a nurse who formerly worked in Satilla’s Heart Center.
The investigation in this case is being conducted by the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia and the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Read the DOJ release on Satilla Regional Medical Center.
