Introduction

HortySpringer Pathways Webinar Session 3: Precautionary Suspension & Voluntary Refrain

Precautionary suspension may be the most misunderstood, disliked step in the entire professional practice evaluation/review process. It has a substantial and immediate impact on the affected practitioner, causing not only practitioners but also physician leaders to be reluctant to use them.

Is there anything that can be done to make this process easier to swallow? And what steps can leaders take to promote transparency and practitioner involvement – and minimize defensiveness and risk – in this otherwise fraught process?

Topics to be Covered:

Precautionary or disciplinary suspension? Understand the (significant) difference

Whether and how to talk to a practitioner about whether they may be planning to refrain from exercising certain privileges temporarily

Documenting a voluntary refrain

Immediate follow-up after a precautionary suspension, including written notice, internal and external notifications, and next steps in the review process (do all precautionary suspensions lead to investigations?)

Conducting and documenting the expedited review of a precautionary suspension

National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) and other reporting requirements for precautionary suspensions and actions that occur during precautionary suspensions (e.g. resignation of privileges, leaves of absence)

Supplemental Materials:

Checklist for implementing a precautionary suspension

Sample letter documenting voluntary refrain

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this audio conference, participants should be able to:

Identify who can implement a precautionary suspension;

Identify and comply with the legal standards that minimize risk for precautionary suspension;

As appropriate, take steps to gather information in advance of a precautionary suspension or restriction;

Plan and implement a conversation with a practitioner to discuss the implementation of a voluntary refrain or a precautionary suspension/restriction; and

Prepare appropriate and timely documentation of a precautionary suspension or voluntary refrain.

About HortySpringer Pathways

Introducing HortySpringer Pathways – a new training program for hospital and physician leaders who are looking to develop and enhance the skills they need to manage and oversee the hospital’s Medical Staff.

FOCUSED

Each Pathways Series is focused on a topic – or “theme” – that health system, hospital, and physician leaders have told us is essential and timely. Avoiding the sound bites and consultant-talk that permeate so many leadership training courses that are on the market, Pathways favors a deeper discussion of the topics at hand and take-home tips that can be implemented right away.

INCLUSIVE

Medical Staff leadership does not occur in a vacuum. While the “self-governance” of the Medical Staff is largely the purview of the organization’s practicing physicians, a multitude of individuals and bodies support and oversee Medical Staff activities: Board members, advanced practice clinicians, health system and hospital administrators, quality professionals, medical staff services professionals, HR professionals, executive recruiters, and more! Pathways’ web-based format allows organizations to finally make Medical Staff leadership training available to all of these individuals, fostering shared understanding and the implementation of aligned and unified policies, procedures, and leadership strategies across the organization.

ACCESSIBLE

Each Pathways webinar has been designed to require a minimal-to-moderate time commitment and to allow training to be completed from the comfort of your own home or workplace. With four 2-hour web-based training sessions spread throughout the year, participation in the Pathways leadership program means not having to forego leadership development when time for training is limited or travel is difficult or impossible.

Who Should Attend?

The 2024 Pathways program can benefit all the following:

Medical Staff members identified for leadership potential, but not yet placed in a leadership role
Medical Staff officers
Chief Medical Officers
Peer review/PPE committee members
Members of a Medical Staff Leadership Council (or similar officers council/committee)
Members of a Medical Staff professionalism committee
Other physician leaders involved in professional practice evaluation
Hospital personnel who support the peer review/PPE processes (for example, Medical Staff Services directors, quality department directors)
In-house counsel who advise the Medical Staff or Board
Governing Board members (particularly, members of a Board subcommittee on quality)

HortySpringer Webinar Disclaimer

The information presented during a webinar and any supplementary materials provided to registrants are intended for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing contained therein is to be considered as the rendering of legal advice for specific cases or circumstances.

No one should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information presented during a webinar without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer practicing as permitted by applicable laws, regulations or rules of professional conduct. No attorney-client relationship is formed by registration for a webinar or the use of the supplementary materials.