Intermountain Healthcare Sued For Allegedly Blocking Competition

Courts » Hospital chain refused to refer stroke patients to urgent care clinic, causing patient harm and clinic to close, lawsuit alleges.

A Utah neurologist blames Intermountain Healthcare for the closure of her clinic and claims the nonprofit system’s care for stroke patients "can only be described as a crisis."

Nancy Futrell alleges Intermountain refused to allow its patients who had strokes or transient ischemic attack (TIA), "mini-strokes," to receive care at her Salt Lake City outpatient center because it wanted to safeguard revenue for its hospital emergency rooms.

And by failing to provide access to timely follow-up care, Intermountain "literally has placed its [patients] at risk for stroke and subsequent complications," charges the lawsuit filed Tuesday in 3rd District Court.