Wyoming physicians are sometimes confronted with the awkward and difficult choice of whether to bring a colleague’s potentially unprofessional, unethical, or harmful conduct to light by making a report to a hospital’s peer...more
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
The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington’s decision interpreting the Health Care Quality Improvement Act, 42 U.S.C. § 11101, et seq., (“HCQIA”), highlights specific requirements for immunity...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
In a highly unfavorable peer review decision, Leadbitter v. Keystone Anesthesia v. Petraglia, entered on February 12, 2020, a Pennsylvania state appellate court upheld an order compelling a hospital to produce the unredacted...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
HCQIA Preemption of State Physician Whistleblower Statutes - Medical professionals who are subject to adverse actions following peer review often seek to sue the peer review participants (including the individual...more
Background - Dr. Steven Valfer is a licensed OB-GYN who was a member of the medical staff at Evanston Northwestern Hospital ("Hospital") until March 16, 2005 when the Hospital's board of directors approved the...more
Best Practices for Using Social Media in Healthcare: Maximizing Impact, Mitigating Risk - Editor's note: In a generation more likely to seek health information online than see a doctor, social media is playing an...more
The recent decision by the California Supreme Court in Fahlen v. Sutter Central Valley Hospitals, No. S205568 , 2014 WL 655995 (Cal. 2014) may significantly weaken the efficacy of hospital peer review proceedings in...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