The Health Law Ticker

The confidentiality of medical staff peer review has long been a cornerstone of hospital operations, fostering an environment where physicians can candidly evaluate medical care without the looming specter of malpractice exposure.  But this established norm is facing a new threat in Colorado, where a ballot proposal aims to gut peer review confidentiality.

The Foundation of Peer Review Confidentiality

Peer review is a process in which physician conduct that endangers patients within a hospital can be immediately reviewed by peers.  Peer review’s goal is to promote continuous ...

The California Supreme Court recently issued its decision in Boermeester v. Carry. Though the case deals with fair procedure within a private university’s internal disciplinary proceedings, it provides helpful guidance for peer review bodies navigating medical disciplinary hearings.

Boermeester reiterated the long-standing admonition that courts should not try to impose “rigid procedures” upon private organizations’ administrative proceedings. Rather, the organizations themselves should develop methods for providing the fundamentals of fair ...

COVID-19 accelerated the trend of physician employment with hospitals, with recent data showing that nearly 70 percent of physicians are employed by hospitals or hospital-affiliated foundations or groups.  While physician integration improves quality of care and clinical efficiency, it also blurs the separation of responsibilities between the medical staff and the employer.  This can create headaches for stakeholders who want to address physician performance issues. … 

May 11, 2023 marked a milestone in the pandemic response with the expiration of the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). The expiration of the PHE marks an end to the wide-reaching efforts undertaken by the federal government through emergency declarations, congressional and regulatory actions that provided flexibilities for the healthcare industry to ensure continuous delivery of health services during the PHE. As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) explained, while some of these changes are extended or made permanent, others are not. Medicare ...

A recent survey found that the average wait time for a new patient to see a physician in 15 of the largest cities in the U.S. was 26 days, up from 24.1 days in 2017. Timely access to health care providers has long been an issue, but appears to be worsening in certain geographies and provider types. Until recently, timely access to care was regulated at the state level; however, in April, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled its proposed rule to address the issue. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Managed Care Access, Finance, and Quality (CMS-2439-P) (NPRM) only ...

Parties in peer review hearings can present a wide range of relevant evidence, regardless of its admissibility in a court of law.  But California has passed a new “apology law” that modifies that standard, erecting a potential hurdle for medical staffs to admit relevant evidence against practitioners in peer review hearings.

Under California law, statements, writings, or benevolent gestures expressing sympathy or a general sense of benevolence relating to the pain, suffering, or death of a person involved in an accident are inadmissible in civil trials.  (Evid. Code, § 1160.)  ...

Given California’s shortage of primary care providers, nurse practitioners (“NPs”) are increasingly being asked to fill gaps in provider coverage.  With that background, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 890 (“AB 890”) into law in 2020.  AB 890 allows NPs to practice with expanded independence under certain conditions.  Although nearly two years have passed since AB 890 was enacted, regulatory and legislative delay have prevented full implementation of the law.

But that’s expected to change soon.  The Board of Registered Nursing anticipates the law will be fully ...

As pandemic restrictions begin to lift and the prospect of employees returning to the workplace becomes a reality, many employers are wondering, whether they can or should make the COVID-19 vaccine a mandatory requirement as a condition of employment or continued employment. The short answer is, per recent EEOC guidance, employers can require employees to be vaccinated, subject to certain exceptions, requirements and caveats discussed below. However, a critical issue is whether employers should mandate COVID-19 vaccinations …