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.