A St. Louis Post-Dispatch article published November 4 reports a Joplin Hospital, Freeman Health System, will pay $9.3 million for improperly compensating Doctors that referred patients to the facility. It is against federal law for physicians to send patients to hospitals that they have a financial vested interest in. This violation was found by an internal audit at the hospital and the violation was then reported to the federal government by the auditors.

The law that was violated is in place to make sure patients are referred to the best facilities for their situation. A third party review has found that no patient’s care was compromised by these actions. The case involved over 70 doctors and the hospital has changed their compensation program to physicians as a result in order to avoid potential conflicts of interest in the future.

Patients go to physicians seeking help and cases like this can shake their confidence in the system. Anyone that has been injured while under the care of a physician as a result of negligence or financial considerations should contact the personal injury attorneys at Hoffman & Gelfman immediately. Visit our website today and schedule an appointment with one of our personal injury experts to discuss your rights to possible compensation in matters of medical malpractice or negligence.