Negligent Credentialing: Make Sure Your Peer Review is Effective

21 May 2014, michigan, United States

Introduction

Hospitals, as corporate entities, have the ultimate responsibility for the quality of medical care provided in its facilities. This statement can be misleading, however, if one concludes that the hospital is liable for all acts of negligence or malpractice by a physician who practices at the hospital. In truth, the hospital must take reasonable steps: 1) to select a competent medical staff, 2) to ensure that the individual physician on it staff performs only procedures for which he or she is qualified, and 3) to implement certain quality control measures to verify that only qualified practitioners remain on the staff and that quality care is provided in the institution. We will review the historical relationship between the physician and the hospital and, to see this relationship in the proper context, the roles each plays under the "corporate responsibility doctrine." We will also review the development of negligent credentialing and examine what actions should be taken to preclude liability for failure to properly credential practitioners.