The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a lower court verdict against Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital and its alleged disruptive physician and the former head of neurosurgery, Dr. Arthur Day. The judges ruled in favor of spine surgeon Dr. Sagun Tuli, who was awarded $1.6 million after claiming the hospital retaliated against her for complaining about a hostile work environment, reports The Boston Globe.
After reviewing incidents, such as when Day told Tuli, "You're just a little girl, you know, can you do that spine surgery?," among other evidence, the appeals court agreed with the lower court's ruling that Day interfered with Tuli's career and defamed her.
The case profiling a leading hospital highlights the fact that a disruptive physician doesn't only create chaos on the medical staff, it also could cost the hospital big bucks.
Some of the leading encountered disruptive behaviors are degrading comments or insults, refusal to follow established protocols, refusal to cooperate with other providers, and yelling, according to a past QuantiaMD report.
According to the report, there were mixed results in how engaged leaders are in disruptive physicians. While 17 percent of respondents strongly agreed their institutions' leaders were highly engaged, another 15 percent strongly disagreed.
For more information:
- read the Globe article
- check out the ruling
- read the QuantiaMD report (.pdf)
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