U.S. Senate Investigates Hospitals that Double-Book Surgeries

The practice of double-booking surgeries has recently become an area of concern for the U.S. Senate. According to the Boston Globe, the Senate Finance Committee, which provides oversight for Medicare, has requested detailed records on concurrent cases between 2011 and 2015 from 20 different hospital systems.

Members of the Senate Committee have also held meetings with the American College of Surgeons (ACS), the largest organization of surgeons in the world, to understand the complexities of the practice. The ACS says it is drafting new guidelines to better regulate concurrent surgeries, which have seemingly gotten out of hand based on an exposé published by the Globe’s acclaimed Spotlight Team.  

In particular, the Senate Committee says it takes issue with the lack of transparency with concurrent surgeries. In a letter to the Globe, Committee Chair Senator Orrin G. Hatch wrote, “We are concerned about reports of patients not being informed that they may be sharing their surgeon with another patient, and we are especially concerned by reports that, in some cases, steps have been taken to actively conceal this practice from patients.”

At their best, concurrent surgeries are designed to overlap for short periods of time to allow surgeons to start a new surgery while the surgical team finishes up the other. Some hospitals have gone too far, however, allowing more extensive overlaps that resulted in unnecessary complications for patients. The Globe’s Spotlight investigation revealed 44 reported problems with overlapping surgeries. Some of the issues involved surgeons neglecting to respond to urgent situations, leaving anesthetized patients waiting, and several malpractice lawsuits involving Massachusetts General Hospital.

To learn more, read the entire article.