The due process manual, Part 8: Procedure for hearings

This series has emphasized time and again the need to be as clear as possible within each part of the fair hearing and due process section of your bylaws. Accordingly, the medical staff bylaws should plainly articulate a member’s right to a hearing, as well as how that hearing will be conducted. The fair hearing procedures are not required to provide the same safeguards that courts of law provide; however, there must be certain minimal procedural safeguards for the hearing process to be considered “fair” under the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986 (HCQIA). Previous articles in this series outlined best practices for hearing panel composition, a presiding officer, and the request for and initiation of a hearing. We now turn to the process for the hearing.

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