ABILENE, Texas, April 2 (UPI) -- Patient deaths and other problems are prompting questions about whether doctor-owned specialty hospitals in the United States can handle emergencies.
A surgery center in Abilene, Texas, recently had to send Steve Spivey, 44, by ambulance to a full-service hospital because there was no doctor on duty when he developed breathing problems after spinal surgery, The New York Times reported. Spivey was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.
With the number of doctor-owned surgical centers increasing, federal and local officials acknowledge that current government rules may be too vague.
The federal agency that oversees hospital certification told the newspaper it is reviewing whether it needs to spell out exactly what emergency procedures a hospital is required to have in place.
"The problem with physician-owned specialty hospitals is that decision-making if more likely to be driven by financial interest rather than patient interest," U.S. Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, a longtime critic of such facilities, told the Times.
