ER Doctor Fired, Exposes For-Profit Healthcare’s Deadly Impact
This article details the case of Dr. Ray Brovont, an emergency room physician fired after repeatedly raising concerns about unsafe staffing levels at Overland Park Regional Medical Center, exacerbated by the hospital’s expansion. His dismissal highlights a growing problem within for-profit emergency department management, where profit prioritization allegedly compromises patient safety. Brovont’s lawsuit against EmCare, later acquired by Envision Healthcare, resulted in a significant financial award, exposing the company’s practices of circumventing state laws prohibiting corporate practice of medicine through shell physician ownership. The case underscores the conflict between profit motives and patient care in the increasingly prevalent for-profit model of emergency department staffing.
John Q. Hosedrinker