A victory for medical staff autonomy: Physicians win in Florida

Another court has recognized that medical staff bylaws are key to helping physicians protect patients.

Editorial. May 15, 2006.

Recently, there was a good day for medical staff bylaws and physician autonomy in Florida, with patient safety also a big winner.

A circuit court there made an important ruling ensuring that physicians at Lawnwood Regional Medical Center -- not hospital trustees -- will be the ones in charge of peer review, medical staff privileges, contracts for hospital-based services and quality assurance.

That's just as it should be.

Physicians who comprise medical staffs are the ones who are in the best position to make decisions on medical issues that affect patients' well-being, not hospital trustees.

The Florida court recognized exactly that when it ruled that the state's 2003 Hospital Governance Law was unconstitutional because, by applying to just one of Florida's 67 counties, it gave a corporation a special privilege. The court also said the measure inappropriately gave the hospital the authority to alter medical staff bylaws.

Physicians in St. Lucie County, with financial help from the American Medical Association/State Medical Societies Litigation Center and expert advice from the AMA Organized Medical Staff Section, fought hard in court against the special law. The hospital had lobbied heavily and got the Legislature to pass the measure despite the Florida Medical Assn.'s extensive lobbying efforts against the bill.

Lawnwood pushed for the sour grapes law after it lost earlier court challenges doctors waged, with the help of organized medicine, to stop the hospital's attempts to alter medical staff bylaws and to remove medical staff officers and suspend physicians. The hospital argues that its actions were aimed at ensuring quality care for its patients.