HCQIA

Zisk v. Quincy Hosp., No. 04-P-985 (Mass. App. Ct. Sept. 14, 2005)

A surgeon sued the hospital and certain physician members of a peer review committee after his privileges were suspended pending his completion of a one-year training program targeted at improving his medical judgment. The surgeon's practice had been subjected to extensive review by several medical staff peer review committees following three patient deaths. In accordance with the medical staff bylaws, the physician had been granted a hearing and an appeal, in neither of which did he prevail. The Massachusetts Superior Court granted summary judgment to the hospital and named physicians and the surgeon appealed. The Appeals Court of Massachusetts affirmed the lower court’s order. It held that the surgeon failed to rebut the presumption under the Health Care Quality Improvement Act ("HCQIA") that the hospital acted in furtherance of health care quality where the record reflected the fact that the peer review committees had considered patient safety an absolute priority. The court also found that the surgeon had the opportunity to be heard during the peer review proceedings; the hospital had complied with all notice and procedural requirements of HCQIA; and the surgeon failed to rebut the presumption that the hospital’s actions were taken with the reasonable belief that corrective action was warranted.