Kaplan Medical Center Management Files New Complaint Against Cardiology Head
Kaplan Medical Center management filed a complaint against cardiology head Prof. Kobi George over unauthorized blood sampling for research, amid an ongoing probe into falsified residency training records.
Less than two months after a severe scandal was exposed at Kaplan Medical Center—where cardiology residents bypassed internal medicine training for years—the hospital management has filed a new complaint against the head of the cardiology department, Prof. Kobi George. The new complaint involves taking blood samples for research without informed consent.
Prof. George has remained in his position since the initial scandal broke, while the Ministry of Health established an external investigative team to review the management's conduct, the health maintenance organization, and the involvement of Prof. Zion Hagai, head of the Kaplan residency committee and chairman of the Israel Medical Association.
During the interim, the issue of unauthorized blood sampling for research was uncovered at Kaplan. While medical research requires Helsinki Committee approval, informed consent must also be obtained from every participant, and blood samples cannot be taken from patients for research without their explicit consent.
Previously, Channel 13 revealed that residents not only skipped crucial training, but records in residency logbooks were allegedly falsified to falsely show training was completed. This raised severe concerns that doctors received cardiology specialist certifications without full required training, potentially impacting patient safety.
