Doc Fired After Genitalia Remarks; Baby Food Sugar Gap; Crisis Centers' Data Capture | MedPage Today

by Sophie Putka, Enterprise & Investigative Writer, MedPage Today April 24, 2024

Welcome to the latest edition of Investigative Roundup, highlighting some of the best investigative reporting on healthcare each week.

Doctor Fired for Sexualized Behavior, Undisclosed Compensation

A high-ranking orthopedic surgeon at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in California has been fired after a 2-year investigation found he made sexualized and racist comments and failed to disclose industry payments to Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Louis Kwong, MD, had been named department chair and program director for residents in the orthopedic department at the hospital and had received positive reviews even in his most recent reviews, despite complaints he had been creating a hostile work environment for years, according to the report.

Among incidents described in a discharge notice to Kwong was an incident where he looked under surgical drapes of an anesthetized patient, or made comments about patients' genitalia -- often Black males -- or grooming. He also allegedly commented about his own sexual preferences, made other sexual and racist remarks to coworkers, and allowed residents and other staff to behave similarly.

According to the Times, Kwong also failed to report to the county more than $700,000 that he received from medical device company Zimmer Biomet in consulting and other fees, in addition to his outside employment by a private research firm near the hospital.

Formal complaints regarding Kwong's behavior began as early as 2013, the Times reported. Kwong was one of the highest paid county employees, and received over a million dollars from the county even while he was on administrative leave during its investigation, the report stated.

Nestlé Added More Sugar to Baby Food Products in Low-Income Countries

A report by Swiss nonprofit Public Eye and the International Baby Food Action Network found that food giant Nestlé added more sugar to baby food products sold in low- to middle- income countries than it did to the same products in Europe.

Sugar content in Cerelac instant cereal was 6 grams per serving in Thailand, Ethiopia, South Africa, India, and Bangladesh, compared to Britain and Germany's zero grams, according to the report, which was covered by the Washington Post. In the Philippines, these products contained 7.3 grams of sugar per serving. The trend was found in Nestlé's Nido powdered milk, though it was less pronounced. The two best-sellers generated $2.5 billion for the company in 2022.

"In European countries, consumer pressure has driven Nestlé to remove added sugar from their baby food products," Laurent Gaberell and Manuel Abebe, researchers at Public Eye who worked on the organization's report, told the Washington Post.

The company itself has cautioned against consuming added sugar at a young age, including on its Brazilian website, in alignment with major health authorities like the CDC and the World Health Organization. The disparity constitutes what Public Eye called a "harmful double standard," that "leads children to develop a lifelong preference for sugary products," which can increase health risks later on.

How Do Crisis Pregnancy Centers Treat Visitor Data?

A group known as Campaign for Accountability sent letters to five attorneys general, asking them to investigate how crisis pregnancy centers use the private health data they collect, according to NBC News.

These centers, they wrote, could be violating state consumer protection laws, or using sensitive patient health data to further an anti-abortion agenda.

These centers largely discourage visitors from seeking abortions and adopt the appearance of medical facilities, and are often affiliated with religious or anti-abortion groups. According to NBC News, "Women who are seeking abortions mistakenly schedule appointments at facilities that will try to counsel them against the procedure," because of confusion over what the centers offer.

Many crisis pregnancy centers are part of the Care Net and Heartbeat International networks, "religious ministries" that collect affiliation fees and provide training, digital support, and forms to use in network facilities, the report stated. Online intake forms collect names, contact information, birth dates, dates of last missed period, and in some cases, ask about intentions to seek abortion or other care.

Because crisis pregnancy centers are free, NBC News reported, they don't meet the definition of an entity covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). They are not regulated by state health departments and thus not beholden to the same privacy and data sharing expectations, though the centers claim to be HIPAA compliant on their websites and in statements made to NBC News.

Sophie Putka is an enterprise and investigative writer for MedPage Today. Her work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Discover, Business Insider, Inverse, Cannabis Wire, and more. She joined MedPage Today in August of 2021. Follow