Swedish Health neurosurgeons double-booked surgeries without patients’ consent

Patients who thought their procedures at Seattle’s Swedish Neuroscience Institute (SNI) were being performed by top surgeons, but in reality, the surgeons were often running multiple operating rooms at once without telling the patients beforehand.

The latest installment in the Seattle Times’ investigation of Swedish Health Services found four surgeons at SNI were double-booking patients for more than half their cases, leaving less-experienced doctors to handle parts of the procedure. The patients only learned about it thanks to reporters, and several said they wouldn’t have consented to such an arrangement had they been asked.

“I would have never let it happen like that,” said Phyllis Johnson, who has had troubles lifting her head since a spine procedure with neurosurgeon Rod Oskouian, MD. Oskouian was identified as the most frequent double booker, with 987 procedures he performed between 2014 and 2016 having more than half the surgical time overlapping.  

The report comes several months after the Times found one Swedish hospital was pushing a “high-volume approach” that involved lying to patients about which surgeons performed their operation. Days after the story was published, Swedish CEO Tony Armada resigned.

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