OPINIONProtect medical staff autonomyA template for autonomy is the welcome result from settling a lawsuit brought by a medical staff against a hospital.Editorial. Oct. 18, 2004. All's quiet at California's Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura. After more than a year of rumbling, the hospital's medical staff and board are no longer gearing up for a courtroom battle over medical staff autonomy. Instead, the medical staff will drop its lawsuit against the hospital, and both sides are looking forward to an era of better cooperation. The two sides achieved détente in the form of a negotiated settlement. The agreement is a big win for the doctors who filed the lawsuit in mid-summer 2003 after the hospital board adopted policies that took away the medical staff's right to self-govern. Both sides said the settlement strikes the balance of power that allows doctors to protect patient safety and administrators to ensure that the hospital remains fiscally sound. It is that delicate balance of power that has delivered quality, safe medical care to patients in hospitals across the county for decades. But it's also a balance that is increasingly at risk. Skirmishes like the one at Community Memorial Hospital have popped up in other parts of the country as well. Courts in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, New York and Ohio have been asked in recent years to resolve disputes over medical staff bylaws. Driven by mounting economic pressure as well as heightened focus on quality-of-care issues, the issue is not likely to go away any time soon. Physicians must remain involved and vigilant if they are to safeguard medical staff protections. A look at the early salvos from Community Memorial Hospital gives physicians an idea of what to be wary about. [...]Full text of American Medical News content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2004 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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The doctors are in the house
The AMA's House of Delegates is holding its Interim Meeting Nov. 7-10 in Houston, addressing issues such as health system reform and physician payment. Meeting coverage - Slideshow Feature articlesHealth reform review The Massachusetts experience Litigation stress Being sued is personal as well as professional Comprehensive coverage
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