The lead report in BNA’s Health Law Reporter on May 31, 2012 noted an increase in lawsuits by doctors claiming that hospital peer review proceedings are being used as retaliation for whistleblower activities, i.e. reports pointing out improper practices and patient safety issues. The report cites two primary reasons for this growing trend:
· The…
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…
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…
