The Connecticut Supreme Court issued an interesting decision in the case of Harris v. Bradley Memorial Hospital & Health Center Inc. in May of 2010, which was precipitated by the summary suspension of Dr. Harris. Not only did it overturn the trial court’s grant of judgment notwithstanding the verdict in favor of the hospital, after
Credentialing and Peer Review
Discovery of Peer Review Materials
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Credentialing and Peer Review
Two recent decisions emphasize the ongoing battle for discovery of peer review information in negligence cases, and confirm that confidentiality is alive and well, but no longer automatic.
In Shell v. Sudan, the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska ordered that deposition questions regarding a hospital risk analysis tool were not…
Medical Staff Bylaws as Contracts
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Credentialing and Peer Review
Cases with opposing interpretations on this issue were decided within the past month. Heretofore, the basic question had been whether medical staff bylaws constituted contracts under state law. The majority of courts deciding these cases have concluded that medical staff bylaws were valid contracts. In the states with the opposite holdings, the basic theory was that bylaws merely…
Huron Hospital (Cleveland Clinic) Case Highlights Appropriate Investigation and Discriminatory Treatment Issues
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Credentialing and Peer Review
In Badri v. Huron Hospital, which is part of the Cleveland Clinic Health System, the District Court for the Northern District of Ohio granted summary judgment to the defendant hospital in which Dr. Badri was alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and the typical emotional distress, tortuous interference, defamation…
Joint Commission Approves MS.01.01.01 effective March 31,2011
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Credentialing and Peer Review
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NAMSS announces the following: TJC Board of Commissioners Approves MS.01.01.01 Posted: 15 Mar 2010 11:40 AM PDT Chuck Mowll, Executive Vice President of Business Development and Government and External Relations, has announced that The Joint Commissioner’s (TJC) Board of Commissioners has approved the Task Force revision of MS.01.01.01 (formerly MS.1.20) for implementation. MS.01.01.01 will be |
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Medical Staff Bylaws as Contracts in Georgia
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Credentialing and Peer Review
Maria Danaher and Ogletree Deakins have posted an article on a medical staff discrimination case that focuses on the contractual requiremants and the medical staff bylaws issue at http://www.employmentlawmatters.net/. Not only does it raise the issue of the 1981 requriements, but also how Georgia views medical staff bylaws.
Tennessee Appellate Court Allows Termination of Privileges for Bylaws Violation
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Credentialing and Peer Review
In Patterson v. Methodist Health Care-Memphis Hospitals, the Tennessee Court of Appeals affirmed an order of summary judgment, allowing a Tennessee hospital to terminate the medical staff membership and clinical privileges of two physicians for a breach of contract. The contract was established by the medical staff bylaws, which required a certain level of continuous…
Hospital Uses After-Acquired Evidence to Support Summary Suspension of Physician
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Credentialing and Peer Review
Dr. Gary Ritten was a medical staff member at Lapeer Regional Medical Center in Indiana. He was summarily suspended in September 2005, allegedly in retaliation for refusing to transfer a patient who had not been stabilized as required by EMTALA. The suspension was initially rescinded by the Medical Executive Committee, although it was reinstated by the hospital’s…
New Data Bank Regulations Implement Social Security Act §1921 – MMPPA §5(h)
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Credentialing and Peer Review
New Data Bank Regulations Implement
Social Security Act §1921 – MMPPA §5(h)
The Medicare and Medicaid Program Protection Act (MMPPA) added Soc. Sec. §1921. This law expanded state licensure reporting obligations to match those already in place for the Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank (HIPDB), which became active in 1999. These regulations will make reporting …
HCQIA Immunity: Perfect Investigations and Furthering Self-Quality Health Care
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Credentialing and Peer Review
The case of Cowell v. Good Samaritan Community Health Care, a state court case in Washington, provides guidance on two of the four elements of HCQIA immunity, i.e. that the action was reasonably taken in the furtherance of quality health care and the necessary substance to establish a reasonable investigation.
Dr. Cowell raised an…