In May, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published Guidance Regarding Patient Safety Work Product and Providers' External Obligations in the hopes of clarifying what documents are considered patient safety work product (PSWP) and thus protected from discovery...
The Healthcare Quality Improvement Act of 1986, which formed the legislative impetus for the NPDB, specifies that organizations must report a physician's "surrender of clinical privileges" while the individual is under investigation for potential incompetence or improper conduct, or in return...
The Supreme Court of Texas (the "Court") recently held that a trial court failed to adequately review allegedly privileged documents?to determine if they were disclosable pursuant to an exception to the state's peer review statute--before issuing an order compelling Christus Santa Rosa Health...
My goal in consulting and writing is to help medical staffs move from a punitive or indifferent peer review culture to one that supports physician improvement and the pursuit of excellence. The good news is that peer review culture can change. But how do you get there? In my experience, there...
Although hospital organizational structures vary widely, an OPPE/FPPE program requires cross-departmental collaboration in virtually any environment. The best way to foster this teamwork is through a dedicated task force composed of members from several departments. The OPPE/FPPE task force...
