From: mha23x@gmail.com   
      
   EXCLUSIVE Investigation | Culture of Secrecy: How hospitals hide medical   
   malpractice   
   Sarah Buduson   
   11:30 PM, Nov 12, 2015   
   7:45 AM, Nov 13, 2015   
      
    Autoplay:   
      
      
      
   CLEVELAND - An exclusive WEWS-TV investigation reveals the culture of secrecy   
   surrounding medical malpractice.   
      
   Investigators found hospitals carefully track medical mistakes but often keep   
   detailed information about errors hidden from patients and the public.   
      
   “People who are injured as a result of medical malpractice are almost never   
   told that has happened by their doctors or by hospitals where it's   
   happened,” said Maxwell Mehlman, the Director of the Law-Medicine Center at   
   Case Western Reserve University.   
      
   Surgical Gauze Left in Patient’s Stomach   
      
   Parma resident Lyn Adanich said doctors at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA   
   Medical Center failed to inform her husband about a serious mistake that   
   occurred during a routine outpatient procedure.   
      
   Surgical gauze was left in 69-year-old Donald Adanich’s stomach for three   
   weeks after he had dental implant surgery in February 2014.   
      
   When doctors discovered Don had swallowed surgical gauze during another   
   procedure, they didn’t inform Lyn or Don.   
      
   “I had to find out from an outside source,” Lyn said.   
      
   Lyn learned about the mistake when she sought a second opinion at another area   
   hospital. The physician had obtained Don’s VA medical records, which   
   included a document describing the discovery of surgical gauze in her   
   husband’s stomach.   
      
   “I'm like, 'Oh my goodness. No wonder he's been so sick’. And no one told   
   us,” she said.   
      
   Immediately after his dental surgery, Don became seriously ill. He was so sick   
   Lyn took him back to the VA hospital the day after his surgery.  He was   
   admitted with a high white blood cell count and a high fever.   
      
   Don also constantly complained of stomach pain.   
      
   Doctors failed to figure out what caused the massive infection. Even after the   
   gauze was discovered and removed, Don remained sick.   
      
   The Vietnam veteran -- who had survived close calls during the war, and a   
   battle with esophageal cancer -- was unable to fight his way back to health.   
   He died in August 2014, six months after the dental surgery.   
      
   “The end result is that my husband went in for dental implants and he came   
   out in a body bag,” said Lyn.   
      
    NewsChannel5 Investigators reached out to the Cleveland VA Medical Center. A   
   spokesperson declined our request for an on-camera interview, but sent us the   
   following statement:     
      
   The Cleveland VA Medical Center offers our deepest condolences to the Adanich   
   family for their loss.  We will be forever grateful for Mr. Adanich’s   
   service to our nation.   
      
   “You know what? Sorry doesn't cut it. My husband's dead,” said Lyn. “I   
   need something more than ‘I'm sorry’. You don't say, ‘I'm sorry’   
   without a detailed explanation of how you correct this so it doesn't happen to   
   someone again."   
      
   A Surgical Fire Kept Secret   
      
   Donald Adanich’s story is just one example of how difficult it can be for   
   patients to find out the truth about medical mistakes.   
      
   Lauren Wargo was a 20-year-old college student when a medical procedure to   
   remove a mole from her face went horribly wrong in December 2006.   
      
   She experienced first, second, and third-degree burns on more than half of her   
   face after the doctor accidentally sparked a fire during the procedure.   
      
   After the surgery, the doctor did not explain what happened to Wargo’s   
   parents.   
      
   In fact, Wargo did not learn the truth until she took the doctor to court. She   
   said there had been a miscommunication. The doctor failed to ask the   
   anesthesiologist to turn off the oxygen when he used an electronic tool   
   capable of igniting a fire.   
      
   Wargo said the doctor has never offered her an apology.    
      
   Medical Malpractice Secrets   
      
   Our investigation found numerous government agencies collect data about   
   medical mistakes in hospitals, but do not reveal details to the public.   
      
   For example, hospitals are required to report serious disciplinary actions   
   taken against physicians and other medical professionals to the National   
   Practitioner Data Bank.   
      
   The data bank was created by U.S. Congress to prevent problem physicians who   
   lose their license in one state from practicing in other states.   
      
   In 2014, there were 2210 disciplinary actions reported to the NPDB about Ohio   
   medical professionals.   
      
   However, the names of those professionals and their employers are private by   
   law.   
      
   “There's no way that the public can go online and find out that, for   
   example, the doctor you're thinking of asking to be your doctor has had   
   payments made 150 times in the last year,” said Mehlman.   
      
   Hidden VA Investigations     
      
   After a push by U.S. lawmakers earlier this year, the VA’s Inspector General   
   released internal investigative findings from hospitals, including a 2012   
   report involving the Cleveland VA Medical Center.   
      
   The report revealed the hospital was investigated over allegations a surgeon   
   caused between 10 and 15 patients deaths. The surgeon later resigned.   
      
   The Cleveland VA hospital also declined WEWS Investigator’s request for an   
   on-camera interview about transparency.   
      
    Ashley Trimble, Public Information Officer, sent us the following statement:   
      
   Care provided to Veterans by the VA healthcare system at large is protected by   
   privacy laws enacted by Congress, such as the HIPAA Privacy Rule.   
      
   While individual healthcare information is protected, the VA has a duty to our   
   Veterans and the public to be transparent within the bounds of the law.  We   
   take this responsibility and our mission to serve Veterans seriously.  The   
   Cleveland VA makes every    
   effort to publicly release performance and outcome measures, and we   
   continually evaluate performance to improve the quality of care for our   
   Veterans.  In 2011, the Cleveland VA Medical Center became the first VA in the   
   country to participate in community-   
   level performance measurements and public reporting.  Information about our   
   performance and outcomes is available on public websites such as Hospital   
   Compare and Better Health Partnership   
      
   It is privilege and honor to serve our nation’s heroes.    
      
   No Reason to Hide   
      
   “I think hospitals are very interested in not being sued,” said Mehlman.   
      
   However, Mehlman said research shows patients are less likely to file lawsuits   
   when they receive an apology from their doctor.   
      
   Mehlman also said patients rarely win medical malpractice lawsuits. According   
   to the NPDB, 232 malpractice settlements were paid in Ohio in 2014.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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