Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a case challenging the sufficiency of due process protections in the Health Care Quality Improvement Act (HCQIA) and National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), effectively...more
Flattening the Curve: Are Vaccination Mandates a Viable Strategy for Hospitals? Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (“SARS-CoV-2”) vaccines hold promise to control the pandemic and help restore normal social and...more
The U.S. healthcare industry remains at a crossroads. The healthcare reform legislation passed under President Barack Obama in 2010, officially called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) but widely referred...more
Was the Louisville hospital’s restriction of Dr. Ben Reid’s surgery privileges a professional review activity or a professional review action? When Ben sued on various tort theories, the hospital claimed immunity under the...more
Since enactment of the Health Care Quality Improvement Act in 1986, physicians haven’t usually fared well when they go to court to stop or delay hospital peer review actions, provided the hospitals follow the procedural steps...more
In Copeland v. MidMichigan Regional Medical Center, a Michigan State Appellate Court affirmed a trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the Hospital, based upon both HCQIA immunity and a general release signed by...more
Physicians always have been justifiably concerned about reports to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) regarding malpractice payments and adverse peer review actions. Two areas of frequent uncertainty have been: ...more
In Granger v. Christus Health Central Louisiana d/b/a Christus St. Francis Cabrini, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that medical staff bylaws are a contract between the hospital and a the medical staff member....more
The Healthcare Quality Improvement Act of 1986 ("HCQIA") is a federal law enacted to establish a national tracking system of healthcare practitioners with a history of medical malpractice payments or adverse actions. A...more