In the lawsuits, brought by two former doctors at Northwest Permanente, Dr Jeffrey Weisz, the former executive medical director, is named as a defendant, reports The Lund Report.

Breaden joined Kaiser as an internist in 2000, and started focusing on sleep medicine in 2007.

Her lawsuit alleges that Weisz’ decision to maximize profits by decreasing outside referrals created a zero-tolerance policy for patients needing to be seen by physicians outside the Kaiser setting, and that decision jeopardized the lives of many patients.

“Before Dr. Weisz’ arrival, Kaiser had a culture of open dialogue and putting patient care first,” her lawsuit alleges. “The primary goal of all discussions was preservation and improvement of the quality of patient care.”

Breaden found it difficult to help her patients find adequate treatment at sleep medicine clinics because they were restricted to the Kaiser facility and often had to drive long distances after being evaluated and treated were in danger of getting in sleep-related vehicle accidents.