The Cleveland Clinic has seen more than its share of ethical troubles of late. Stories keep popping up about pesky conflicts of interest, mainly involving the hospital and its doctors having a financial stake in the medical procedures they recommend.
First it was Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove, who was also director of a Cincinnati company that developed a technique for curing fluttering hearts. As a cardiologist, he recommended the technique to patients without telling them what he stood to gain. Meanwhile, the Clinic also invested in the company.
Then there was orthopedic surgeon Dr. Isador Lieberman, who championed a spinal treatment while he held stock in the company that supplied equipment for it.
And the list goes on. The Plain Dealer hasn’t been particularly aggressive in pursuing these stories—the Wall Street Journal scooped the hometown rag on the Cosgrove scandal—but now we know it never will be.
PD Publisher Terrence Egger became a member of the Clinic’s board of trustees this week. That’s right, folks. Instead of just writing about the hospital’s millions, I’ll decide how to spend them, too!
Despite today’s cheerful article promising to avoid potential ethical quandaries— Trust us, we know this looks bad, but it’s totally kosher, we swear — it will be hard to keep a straight face when reading the daily’s coverage from now on. – Lisa Rab
This article appears in Aug 1-7, 2007.
Miss Rab, Excellent story. It’s good to see that there are a few journalists that are not afraid to report the truth. The Plain Dealer is terrified of the Clinic. If the Cleveland Clinic was concerned about “EHTICS” they wouldn’t have hired a Chief of Police who resigned from his perevious police job to avoid criminal chagres. That issue by itself speaks volumes about their standards and ethics.
If the media and the public demanded answers from the Clinic regarding the business practices described in this article, it would open a can of worms like you have never seen before. Call Dr. Delos Cosgrove, Dr. Lieberman and thier cohorts out on the carpet. Demand explanations! Don’t settle for their B.S.”go betweens” like their “I will do whatever you say bossman” Eileen Sheil or any other Clinic spokesperson.
Dr. Cosgrove sits at the helm of the Cleveland Clinic. Put him in a position where he must provide provide answers. The question is…will he? The answer is…probably not. From their point of view it’s not any of the publics business. It’s their business. Their multi-billion dollar business. Health Care is expensive for the patient and very profitable for others like Cosgrove. Approximately 47 million Americans do not have Health Care Insurance. I’m just patiently waiting to see if criminal indictments are handed down to the “World Class” boys. That will be a real “World Class” scream!
These people are pigs. They pride themselves in back patting, hand job giving social gatherings, where they can speak about their success while sipping free champagne and gobbling up filet mignon at the expense of the patient(s). Then they masquerade off to their mansions in the burbs. We’re getting banged without a lubricant, and we don’t realize it until our health care costs rise again.
As a Clevelander , you don’t have a voice in this matter. They are the largest employer in this destitute, crime infested, crack dealing city. We need a good laugh Miss Rab, please ask Mayor Frank Jackson for his opinion regarding Cosgrove, Lieberman and their business practices. Maybe Jackson could take some time away from his coloring book to provide another one of his ignorant remarks.
Will someone please call security and have Kaloofski unlock the Founder’s Room? We have a Hand Party scheduled for 7 o’clock and Toby is going to blow everybody. Bring your money, we have a billion dollar philanthropical goal to achieve and we are going to raffle off a brand new contemporary bidet.