In Kentucky, common law president permits discovery of peer review documents. Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.252 protects peer review discovery. In Saleba v. Schrand, the estate of a Kentucky resident sued an Ohio physician and Good Samaritan Hospital, located in Cincinnati, Ohio, in Kentucky based upon the results of medical services performed in Ohio. The Kentucky Supreme … Continue Reading
The Montana Supreme Court held in John Doe, M.D. v. Community Medical Center that the Health Care Quality Improvement Act (HCQIA) does not preempt state law regarding injunction and breach of contract, thereby allowing the lower court to issue an injunction against Community Medical Center prohibiting it from issuing a Data Bank report regarding the … Continue Reading
In Feller v. Miriam Hospital, the Rhode Island Superior Court provides additional guidance regarding immunity protection pursuant to the Health Care Quality Improvement Act (HCQIA). In that case, Dr. Joseph Feller was practicing at Miriam Hospital in Rhode Island. He encountered some disciplinary issues in 2002 and agreed to both monitoring by a hospital appointed panel … Continue Reading
In Isaiah v. WMHS Braddock Hospital Corporation and Memorial Hospital and Medical Center of Cumberland, the Fourth Circuit affirmed an order granting summary judgment against Dr. Isaiah in favor of WMHS Braddock Hospital on the basis that summary judgment was appropriate under both HCQIA and the Maryland statutes providing immunity for peer review activity (Md. … Continue Reading
The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled in Board of Registration in Medicine v. Hallmark Health Corp. that the Massachusetts licensing board would subpoena certain hospitals peer review records. In Director of Health Affairs Policy Planning, University of Connecticut v. Freedom of Information Commission, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that the state’s freedom of information act contradicted … Continue Reading
In Hospital Authority of Valdosta and Lowndes County v. Meeks, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that information contained in a physician’s peer review file was not necessarily protected by the Georgia Peer Review Confidentiality Statute. Although the holding is enticing from the physician perspective, the limitations contained in the opinion render the precedent potentially meaningless. The … Continue Reading
Stratienko v. Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority, has produced yet another important opinion from the HCQIA prospective. In its most recent ruling, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee has dismissed a claim by physicians, named as defendants in the litigation arising out of Dr Stratienko’s suspension, to recover attorney’s fees against Dr. … Continue Reading
Is there a duty for a hospital to answer a credentialing inquiry from another institution? A hospital’s refusal to answer an inquiry presumably has the same impact as an employer’s refusal to answer a request for references: when the inquiring party receives no response, they presume, and usually rightly so, that the party to whom … Continue Reading
In Hussein vs. Duncan Regional Hospital, United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma denied immunity under the Health Care Quality Improvement Act (HCQIA) to Duncan Regional Hospital because it terminated a physician’s privileges and reported him to the National Practitioners Data Bank (NPDB) without providing notice or an opportunity to be heard. … Continue Reading
Most participants in the credentialing process are familiar with state statutes providing peer review immunity and confidentiality. The Tennessee statute analyzed in Smith v. Pratt and HCA Health Services of Tennessee, Inc. /d/b/a CentennialMedicalCenter take that immunity one step further. In this malpractice case, the court held that Tennessee Code § 63-6-219 provides immunity for negligent … Continue Reading
In Chudacoff vs. UniversityMedicalCenter of Southern Nevada, et al., the United States District Court for the District of Nevada granted partial summary judgment on behalf of Richard M. Chudacoff, M.D., enjoining University Medical Center from reporting Dr. Chudacoff to the National Practitioner Data Bank, and granted summary judgment on Dr. Chudacoff’s behalf denying immunity under … Continue Reading
A physician in Knoxville, Tennessee, Dr. Abu-Hatab, sued Blount Memorial Hospital alleging that his medical staff membership and clinical privileges had been terminated and retaliation for exercising his First Amendment right of free speech regarding complaints about medical care in the hospital. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee granted summary judgment … Continue Reading
The California Supreme Court vindicated Dr. Mileikowsky when it affirmed an appellate court decision setting aside the hospital’s governing board decision terminating Dr. Mileikowsky’s hearing and ordering the hospital to convene and conduct a new hearing in accordance with the medical staff bylaws. The basis of the dispute was a ruling and action by the … Continue Reading
The Court of Appeals for the State of California has overruled a trial court decision holding a summary suspension was not a formal proceeding entitled to Anti-SLAPP protection. In Arunasalam v. St. Mary Medical Center, Dr. Arunasalam was summarily suspended for disruptive conduct and sought a Medical Staff Hearing, but the Medical Staff Hearing was delayed … Continue Reading
The trial court in Baptist Health vs. Murphy has issued a decision permanently enjoining Baptist Health from enforcing its economic credentialing policy, and finding that Baptist Health tortuously interfered with the plaintiff physician’s contracts and engaged in deceptive trade practices under the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Law. Attached below is a comment on the article … Continue Reading
AHLA and a Florida newspaper have reported an ongoing case in which 4 trauma surgeons have obtained a TRO blocking their summary suspensions, but the case is not over yet and there is no formal opinion. The AHLA report and the newspaper link are below. Hospital officials argue suspension of trauma surgeons was necessary to protect patient … Continue Reading
On January 21, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Dr. Poliner’s petition to review the Fifth Circuit’s holding , leaving standing the decision that Texas Health System and Dr. James Knoechel qualified for HCQIA immunity.… Continue Reading
(Chuck Mowll, cmowll@jointcommission.org) http://www.jointcommission.org/Library/jconline/jconline_jan_2009.htm Standard MS.1.20 Task Force to meet in March The MS.1.20 Task Force will meet in March to continue its work of determining the best approach to revise Standard MS.1.20 relating to Medical Staff bylaws. Any recommended changes would be the subject of a field review and consideration by the Board … Continue Reading
In Cole vs. St. James Healthcare, the Montana Supreme Court affirmed the entry of a preliminary injunction against St. James Healthcare. The facts, briefly stated, were that the hospital had undertaken an investigation in a manner that was not authorized by the medical staff bylaws and changed Dr. Cole’s Medical Staff status without following the due … Continue Reading
A Colorado state appeals court concluded breach of due process provisions of the Health Care Quality Immunity Act (HCQIA) precluded immunity for St. Mary’s Hospital and MedicalCenter, even though the medical staff bylaws might not have required notice and a fair hearing for revocation of provisional clinical privileges. The hospital’s medical staff bylaws provided no … Continue Reading
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma has required Ardent Health Services to produce unredacted documents relating to the files of identified peer review physicians who practiced at the hospitals in order to examine whether the plaintiff’s peer review situation was handled differently than other physicians within the hospital. The Court … Continue Reading
Highmark has established new provider privileging requirements from diagnostic imaging to be effective January 1, 2009. The text of the requirements is available on the Highmark website in the ResourceCenter and is also attached below as a PDF. www.medlawblog.com/uploads/file/Privileging Requirements.pdf… Continue Reading
Dr. Poliner has petitioned the United States Supreme Court to review the Fifth Circuit decision dismissing his claims against Texas Health Systems based upon immunity under the Health Care Quality Improvement Act. Dr. Poliner is arguing that the Fifth Circuit in particular and courts in general have gone too far in granting immunity under the "objective … Continue Reading
