News in brief - Sept. 18, 2006

Minn. court: Patients can't sue on claim of credentialing negligence - Study: Better data collection would help ease disparities - Fla. doctors say pharmacists shouldn't be able to change Rx

Minn. court: Patients can't sue on claim of credentialing negligence

The Minnesota Court of Appeals in a July ruling would not let a patient sue a hospital or its peer review body for allegedly negligently credentialing or privileging a physician.

Judges noted in their decision that recognizing a new claim for negligent credentialing "represents a significant change in the law that should not be accomplished without considering ... the effect of such a tort on the strong policy of confidential peer review."

The case, Larson v. Wasemiller, sparked interest in the medical community, which feared that allowing negligent credentialing claims would erode the states peer review laws protecting the confidentiality of discipline and credentialing decisions. The Minnesota Medical Assn., AMA/State Medical Societies Litigation Center and Minnesota Hospital Assn. filed an amicus brief in the case. The plaintiff's lawyer said they plan to appeal.

Study: Better data collection would help ease disparities

Health care organizations that collect race, ethnicity and language data are more likely to design programs targeting disparities in care, but many hospitals don't collect data or do it poorly, according to an August Health Services Research study.

Many health care organizations mistakenly believe that tracking such information about their patients is illegal, and those that do collect it often rely on staff observation, a method the authors say is suboptimal.

Physicians and other health professionals are frequently reluctant to ask patients about their backgrounds, so the authors suggest health care organizations design a script explaining that the information will be used to improve the quality of care.

The authors, David W. Baker, MD, MPH, of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, and Romana Hasnain-Wynia, PhD, of the Health Research and Educational Trust, also say hospitals should let patients self-identify race, ethnicity and language, rather than pick from a list.

Fla. doctors say pharmacists shouldn't be able to change Rx

The Florida Medical Assn. is moving to block a measure that would allow a pharmacist to alter a prescription without the doctor's approval.

The rule, approved by the Florida Board of Pharmacy, would permit pharmacists to substitute an equivalent drug that the patient's insurer lists as the preferred product. Pharmacists would need to notify the prescribing doctor within 24 hours.

FMA officials said the rule violates state law and endangers patients.

The rule "is a clear and very real endangerment to the well-being of Florida patients," because doctors write prescriptions based on a number of factors, including a patient's medical history and other drugs he or she may be taking, said Francesca Plendl, FMA's director of governmental affairs.

Florida Dept. of Health spokesman Fernando R. Senra said the change would "in no way" alter a physician's prescription without consent. The rule "would only accommodate the needs of many patients who struggle to meet the rising costs of health care and prescriptions," he said. An administrative law hearing was scheduled for Sept. 15, Plendl said.