The Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986 (HCQIA) was created to provide immunity from monetary damages to hospitals and individual practitioners participating on medical peer review committees. HCQIA also created the National Practitioner Data Bank.
Although patient safety organizations (PSO) have been around for a couple of years, for many medical staffs, questions still linger. Hospitals aren't required to participate in a PSO, but many are considering doing so to reap the legal protections that PSOs offer.
Back in what some physicians may consider the "good old days," board certification wasn't that big of a deal. It was a great accomplishment-if your specialty had a board to speak of-but it wasn't necessary to have a successful practice. Today, however, nearly every specialty has...
As the March 31 deadline approaches for implementing the changes brought about by the final version of Joint Commission standard MS.01.01.01, one question hangs in the air: Are you ready?
The story of Margaret McBride, a nun who was recently excommunicated for allowing an abortion to occur at Arizona-based St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, has made headlines during the past few months. The case prompted the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to write...
