Back in May we mentioned that five women who were treated at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas for anorexia and bulimia were suing the hospital and doctors who treated them. The women, who had participated in Presby's Eating Disorder Program, claimed "the hospital and doctors there took part in a fraudulent billing scheme designed to profit from the women's problems." But in the comments section of that item, several other patients defended the program and one of the doctors involved, a pediatric cardiologist. Wrote one patient, "I'm very upset that lawyers and perhaps greedy patients are tarnishing a program that really does help people."
Well, today comes news that 11 more women have added their names to the suit, filed in the 298th Judicial District Court in Dallas County. Says the media release from Rose•Walker, L.L.P., "The women, all of whom once were patients in the hospital’s eating disorders program, say they were duped into believing they had heart problems that required additional, expensive testing." Then again, noted my son's doc in the original item's comments section: "It's quite routine for an eating disorders program to be regularly affiliated with a pediatric cardiologist. Why? Because more than half of these patients are preteen and teen girls, and adult cardiologists usually don't see patients under 18." --Robert Wilonsky