Few events are more distasteful to both hospitals and medical staff leaders than hotly contested medical staff hearings. They often challenge medical staff’s goal of fostering collegiality and hospitals’ cultivation of trust and good relations with their physicians. Let’s begin with three observations.

Everyone hates medical staff fair hearings; When it comes to fair hearings, actions the medical executive committee (MEC) takes that adversely affect the hearing almost always happen before the hearing begins; And, Physicians often come out better at a hearing than the MEC had recommended; hearing panels often disagree, at least in part, with the MEC’s desired corrective action.

If the third observation is true, then many hearings should have been avoided. If the second observation is true, then many hearings where the physician wins could have been avoided. Finally, if the first observation is true – and it surely is – whenever a hearing can be avoided, everyone will be happier.

We hope that this article will facilitate the happiness of all parties by helping them to avoid unnecessary hearings.