A decision by the Minnesota Supreme Court issued last week upheld important tenets of medical staff self-governance and authority in patient care that physicians have been fighting for in that state since 2012.
The state’s high court overturned earlier rulings in Avera Marshall Medical Staff v. Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center, in which the lower courts had said the medical staff lacked the capacity to sue the hospital for inappropriate action and the medical staff bylaws did not constitute an enforceable contract between the hospital and medical staff.
The medical staff of Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center has been seeking to re-establish its autonomy after the hospital’s governing board unilaterally amended the medical staff’s bylaws. The move effectively stripped physicians of nearly all rights and responsibilities as the experts in medical direction.
“Patients were the big winners today as the Minnesota Supreme Court reestablished an appropriate balance of responsibilities between physicians and administrators,” AMA President Robert M. Wah, MD, said in a statement. “The ruling will help promote hospital policies that align with the best interests of patients.”
The Litigation Center of the AMA and the State Medical Societies, joined by the Minnesota Medical Association and other medical associations, supported the Avera Marshall medical staff by filing friend-of-the-court briefs before the Minnesota Supreme Court and the state appellate court.
“This case shows yet again that when doctors enlist the help of organized medicine, the best outcome for patients and doctors can be achieved," Dr. Wah said.
Read more about this case and others in which the AMA Litigation Center is involved that deal with physician-hospital relationships.
