Ask the expert: When a physician requests a fair hearing, how long does the medical staff have to react?

Under the Health Care Quality Improvement Act, if a physician requests a hearing, he or she must be given notice with the date, time, and location of the hearing, and this date must not be sooner than 30 days after the date of the notice of the proposed adverse action. The notice of the hearing must also contain a list of the witnesses, if any, expected to present at the hearing on behalf of the medical executive committee (MEC) and the hospital. In some states, local statues impose additional requirements for the notice of a hearing (e.g., a list of the exhibits the MEC and the hospital expect to present).

This week’s question and answer are adapted from The Greeley Guide to Medical Staff Bylaws, Second Edition by Joseph D. Cooper.