Overview:
Hospitals, as corporate entities, have the ultimate responsibility for the quality of medical care provided in its facilities. This statement can be misleading, however, if one concludes that the hospital is liable for all acts of negligence or malpractice by a physician who practices at the hospital.
In truth, the hospital must take reasonable steps:
- To select a competent medical staff
- To ensure that the individual physician on it staff performs only procedures for which he or she is qualified
- To implement certain quality control measures to verify that only qualified practitioners remain on the staff and that quality care is provided in the institution
We will review the historical relationship between the physician and the hospital and, to see this relationship in the proper context, the roles each plays under the "corporate responsibility doctrine." We will also review the development of negligent credentialing and examine what actions should be taken to preclude liability for failure to properly credential practitioners.
Why should you attend: In a medical malpractice action, the plaintiff is looking for the defendant with deepest pocket for recovery. There is little question that hospitals have the deepest pocket. You should attend this program to learn how negligent credentialing develops and learn strategies to defend against it.
Areas Covered in the Session:
- A brief history of peer review in hospitals
- How the doctrine of corporate responsibility developed
- Responsibility of the hospital for monitoring the care provided by physicians
- What negligent credentialing is and how it developed
- A brief review of state lawsuits involving negligent credentialing
- Strategies that should be taken to preclude liability
Who Will Benefit:
- Hospital Executives
- Medical Staff Officers
- Physicians who serve on peer review committees
- Medical Staff
- Support Staff
- Attorneys representing Medical Staffs