The State : Hospital Accused of ‘Patient Dumping’

The federal government has terminated its Medicare and Medicaid contracts with Brookside Hospital in San Pablo after an investigation into charges of “patient dumping.” The termination is to take effect April 13. The agency also referred the case to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for consideration of additional sanctions. The investigation, conducted by the state Department of Health Services, found an undisclosed number of incidents in which patients were transferred to other hospitals without receiving the necessary medical treatment, according to Robert D. O’Connor of the federal Health Care Financing Administration, who said several dozen other deficiencies in hospital operations, mostly problems in record-keeping, also were discovered.