Florida surgeon fined $3K for removing kidney he thought was tumor

WELLINGTON, Fla. (AP) - The Florida Board of Medicine says a West Palm Beach surgeon has agreed to pay a $3,000 fine for removing a woman's healthy kidney that he thought was a tumor.

The Palm Beach Post reports Ramon Vazquez was responsible for cutting Maureen Pacheco open in 2016 so two other surgeons could perform a back operation.

Don’t Let Your Doctor Kill You

In her new book, a physician says patients need to take power or risk serious harm

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• By Emily GurnonMarch 24, 2016

There is no doubt that doctors make mistakes, just like people in every other profession. Who hasn’t heard of a surgeon who removed the wrong organ or a gynecologist who missed the symptoms of ovarian cancer? Of course, when doctors fall short, the consequences can be deadly. They rightly should face more scrutiny.

Doctors give unanimous 'no confidence' vote in NCH CEO

The emergency meeting came after the latest administrative policy was announced, which said doctors outside of NCH could not write prescription orders.

Three top Baylor St. Luke's execs out following CMS review

Three top Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center executives, including its president, have left the hospital following a federal investigation into a patient death.

The hospital said in a news release that President Gay Nord, Chief Nursing Officer Jennifer Nitschmann and Senior Vice President of Operations Dr. David Berger "have left their roles."

Distraught husband says wife of 30 years was given a lethal dose of Fentanyl. He wants to know why.

"It can't be. Why would he do that?"

David Austin was shocked when he found out that his wife was one of 27 people who may have been given excessive -- possibly lethal -- doses of Fentanyl. 
The widower, who is suing an Ohio doctor that ordered the dose he believes killed his wife, was still distraught when he spoke to CNN affiliate WBNS.

"27 people ..." he said in disbelief.

David's wife, Bonnie Austin, was brought in to Mount Carmel Health System in Columbus on September 30, 2018 with chest pains and difficulty breathing, according to a lawsuit David filed against the hospital, doctor, nurse, and pharmacist involved with her care.

William S. Husel: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

In what can only be described as an admission, Mount Carmel West Hospital in Ohio told the estate of a patient who died in their care that she was purposely given a fatal dose of fentanyl in 2017 and died moments after it was administered.

Hospital officials added that the case was not isolated; some 26 other patients were similarly prescribed excessive or lethal doses of the powerful opioid, according to court documents.

Intensive care doctor William S. Husel, registered nurse Tyler Rudman and pharmacist Talon Schroyer are all named in a civil lawsuit filed against the hospital. But it turns out that around 20 hospital employees in total have either been fired or placed on leave as a result of the investigation, hospital officials confirm.

As of Wednesday morning, there are now two lawsuits filed against the hospital and Husel in connection with the deaths of patients given fatal fentanyl doses.

Read on for civil suit:

Hospital: Doc gave near-death patients excessive pain meds(Sounds like St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua, NH)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An intensive care doctor ordered “significantly excessive and potentially fatal” doses of pain medicine for at least 27 near-death patients in the past few years after families asked that lifesaving measures be stopped, an Ohio hospital system announced after being sued by a family alleging an improper dose of fentanyl actively hastened the death of one of those patients.

The Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System acknowledged the doses were larger than needed to provide comfort for dying patients. That raises questions about whether there was an intentional or possibly illegal use of the drugs to accelerate deaths.

The system said it has fired the doctor, reported findings of an internal investigation to authorities and removed 20 employees from patient care pending further investigation, including nurses who administered the medication as well as pharmacists.