An Oshkosh physician has filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming that Aurora Health Care is illegally trying to squeeze out independent doctors.
Albert L. Fisher also is seeking to be paid more than $300,000 for extra on-call hours he provided.
An attorney for Fisher filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in Green Bay Wednesday.
The suit alleges that Aurora Health Care enacted a policy that required independent physicians to provide continuous on-call coverage for their patients, a practice that eliminated independent physicians from hospital staff and decreased the choice of who patients would be able to see for medical care in Oshkosh.
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A spokesperson for Aurora Health Care said the company has not yet seen a copy of the lawsuit and was not able to comment on Fisher’s claims.
Fisher could not be reached for comment.
Fisher has been an independently practicing physician in Oshkosh since 1985, but he entered into an agreement with Aurora Health Care in 2005 that allowed him to be a member of Aurora Medical Center staff in order to provide care for his patients.
That 2005 agreement allowed other physicians to see Fisher’s patients when he was not on call.
In 2011, Fisher was notified this arrangement would no longer be honored and independent physicians, including Fisher, would have to be available 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week in order to provide coverage for their patients who are admitted to the hospital, according to the lawsuit.
When Fisher applied for renewal of his medical privileges at Aurora in February 2012, the lawsuit claims Aurora refused to consider the application because Fisher did not agree to the company’s 24/7 call coverage requirement.
The lawsuit argues the coverage requirement allowed Aurora to act in its own self-interest by “systematically eliminating independent physicians from its medical staff.”
Fisher’s lawsuit seeks $302,000 in compensation for 2,879 hours of on-call services he provided at Aurora Medical Center from Aug. 19, 2011, through Feb. 10, 2012, that were beyond the customary coverage.
The lawsuit also asks for punitive and compensatory damages and reinstatement on staff at Aurora Medical Center.
No court dates have been set.