Md. hospital turns over lab documents to HHS

Maryland General Hospital, Baltimore, confirmed that it has obeyed an HHS subpoena for documents related to HIV and hepatitis C testing at the hospital from Jan. 1, 2002, through Aug. 30, 2003. HHS' inspector general's office is the latest oversight agency to get involved in a scandal over quality controls in the hospital's laboratory and the accuracy of test results during that period. Since receiving the request May 11, the hospital has been "cooperating fully," spokesman Lee Kennedy said in a written statement. "Several regulatory bodies are already reviewing matters related to the laboratory and its practices, and significant strides have been made to improve the operation of the laboratory," Lee said. A state inspection initially identified 460 people whose test results may have been inaccurate; the pool of patients to be notified and retested was subsequently expanded to more than 2,000. More recently, the focus has shifted to the appropriateness of lab claims. Maryland's attorney general is investigating whether Medicaid was billed for tests the hospital knew to be inaccurate. "Maryland General billed for tests that were, in fact, performed," Kennedy said. -- by John Morrissey