The two physician groups, Knoxville Urology Clinic and Tennessee Urology Associates, planned to open the clinic as a joint venture with Mercy Health Partners, which operates Baptist West Hospital in Knoxville. The center was to serve as an anchor for developing a Men’s Health Center on Baptist West’s campus.
Critics of the proposal suggested that the clinic would violate federal anti-kickback laws and cause the physicians to refer patients to radiation therapy as opposed to alternative treatments for prostate cancer, according to the report. Attorneys who helped developed the plan said it does not violate these laws.
Opponents of the proposal included healthcare facilities in Knoxville and other areas, including Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Erlanger Medical Center, Blount Memorial Hospital, University of Tennessee Medical Center, Covenant Health, Wellmont Health System and Mountain States Health Alliance.
Supporters of the proposal said the clinic would be the first of its kind in Tennessee and provide patients with comprehensive, advanced treatment and improved services. Representatives from Tennessee Urology Associates said in the report that physicians’ profits from the center would be “only a couple thousand dollars,” as opposed to the millions opponents claim.
Read the Sentinel’s report about the rejected Knoxville urology center.
