Bridgeport Hospital Fined For False Cancer Diagnoses

BRIDGEPORT, CT — Bridgeport Hospital is facing sanctions and fines after it switched eight patient specimens, leading to two patients being given wrong cancer diagnoses, one of whom had an unnecessary hysterectomy, Connecticut Health I-Team reported. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has fined the hospital $150,000.

The errors occurred in July 2017. A 41-year-old woman was given a hysterectomy after she was told she had cancer, only to learn after the procedure that she did not. The other patient was a 66-year-old who was told her results were normal, only to later learn there was a malignancy present.

The state's Department of Public Health discovered the violations during unannounced visits to the hospital, according Connecticut Health I-Team.

As a result of the violations, the hospital has been barred from testing or reporting any patient test results in cytology since Nov. 29, 2018. The hospital can also no longer receive Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements for cytology, with cytology testing and payments now being routed through Yale New Haven Hospital.

The hospital has paid the fine but must prove its competency before offering cytology services again, Connecticut Health I-Team reported.