Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012
This Week's News
AMA files brief in case defending medical staff self-governance
Physicians are supporting the independence and self-governance of medical staffs in an amicus brief filed in a case before the California Supreme Court.
The Litigation Center of the AMA and State Medical Societies recently filed a brief alongside the California Medical Association in El-Attar v. Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, arguing that the hospital violated the medical staff's right to self-governance by usurping the physician's right to have the executive committee oversee peer review.
At the root of the case is the hospital's termination of a staff physician's hospital privileges, despite the medical staff executive committee's recommendation of reappointment. When the physician challenged the decision, the hospital unilaterally appointed the joint review committee members and the hearing officer in opposition to the medical staff bylaws, which clearly assign that responsibility to the medical staff executive committee.
The court's decision is expected in 2013. An earlier hearing in a California court of appeal ruled in favor of the physician.
This case is one of the most recent examples of how the Litigation Center serves as the voice of America's medical profession in legal proceedings around the country. The Litigation Center has participated in nearly 200 cases since 1995, with cases addressing such key issues as physician payment, medical liability and scope of practice.
Learn more about this case and others in which the Litigation Center is standing up for medical staff rights.
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