SPOKANE, Wash. — The United States and Washington filed a false claims act complaint against MultiCare Deaconess Hospital in Spokane, alleging that MultiCare knowingly endangered patients' safety and falsely billed federal health care programs for spinal surgery procedures.
Those procedures were reportedly performed between 2019 and 2021 by former neurosurgeon Jason Dreyer.
This isn't the first time Dreyer has come under fire within the medical field. Between 2013 and 2019, Dreyer practiced at Providence St. Mary's in Walla Walla before he resigned amidst allegations that he was performing unnecessary procedures and providing false diagnoses.
The current complaint against Dreyer alleges that, following his resignation, MultiCare hired him to perform neurosurgery services at Deaconess. According to the Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Washington, there were concerns regarding Dreyer's surgical judgement during the hiring process.
The complaint also alleges that MultiCare ignored red flags during the hiring process and allowed Dreyer to perform the surgeries because he was a "workhorse" generating a significant amount of revenue for the company. This led MultiCare to placing Dreyer on an incentive compensation structure, meaning Dreyer would make more money by performing more complex surgeries, according to the complaint.
The U.S. Attorney's Office reportedly made MultiCare aware of their investigation into the allegations against Dreyer in February 2020. Despite receiving that information and more internal complaints, MultiCare still allowed him to see patients and perform surgeries, according to the complaint. This continued until the Washington Department of Health suspended Dreyer's ability to perform surgery in March 2021.
“As alleged in the Complaint, MultiCare was aware of serious concerns that Dr. Dreyer was putting patients in danger,” United States Attorney Vanessa Waldref said. “The Complaint alleges that MultiCare nonetheless made the decision to allow him to treat and operate on patients, even after it became aware of the federal investigation. This is an egregious breach of the public trust.”
In April 2022, Providence agreed to pay approximately $22.7 million and implement a standard of care corporate integrity agreement to resolve its liability concerning surgical procedures performed by Dreyer. In April 2023, Dreyer agreed to pay approximately $1.2 Million to resolve his individual liability under the False Claims Act.
KREM 2 received the following statement from MultiCare on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024:
"MultiCare has not yet received the complaint filed by the Department of Justice. We can assure you that MultiCare’s commitment to our mission – partnering for healing and a healthy future – and our dedication to the health of the communities we serve is as strong as ever. The safety of our patients is and will always be our highest priority. We look forward to the chance to defend ourselves in this matter."
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