MEDICAL STAFF HEARINGS
Jaffe v. Kaiser Found. Hosp., No. B166698 (Cal. App. Dec. 1, 2004)
The Court of Appeals, Second Division, of California affirmed the decision
of a hearing arbitrator regarding the revocation of a physician's medical staff
and clinical privileges, holding that there was no prejudicial variance between
the acts being charged and the arbitrator's findings that the physician failed
to adhere to the community standard of care. The physician's clinical privileges
had been suspended pending action on the Medical Executive Committee's recommendation
that his privileges be revoked. The arbitrator found that in 12 cases the physician
rendered inadequate treatment. In two he was found to have prescribed excessive
medication and used the same syringe to inject different patients. The arbitrator
concluded that the physician's performance was below the community standard.
The physician appealed this decision, but the appellate review panel found
that by preponderance of the evidence, the physician failed to adhere to quality
service and care. The physician claimed that the appellate review panel did
not properly review the medical record, that evidence was withheld from another
reviewer and that his fair procedure rights were violated by not exploring
conflicts of interest or bias on the part of the appellate review panel. The
court found that the physician provided no basis for his argument that the
arbitrator's findings varied from the specific misconduct charged. It was evident
from the record that the arbitrator did not consider evidence of uncharged
misconduct and limited his findings to issues raised by the statement of charges.