Last month, two former Detroit Medical Center (DMC) cardiologists filed a lawsuit against their previous employer and its parent company, Tenet Healthcare, which is based in Dallas. The physicians, Amir Kaki, MD, and Mahir Elder, MD, were fired from DMC in October 2018 for conduct violations; however, according to the physicians, their termination occurred because they brought forth concerns about care quality and patient safety.

The corrective action, summary suspension, and fair hearing processes are high-stakes proceedings and extremely stressful for all involved. Hospitals can alleviate some of this stress by ensuring their medical staff bylaws do not create extra pressure points when managing practitioner behavior and competency issues

The process of a hearing following the MEC’s recommendation for corrective action is an important right that must be spelled out in the bylaws. It is essential that this section of the bylaws is carefully thought out, drafted with precision, and kept in strict compliance with the minimum procedural process required under HCQIA so that the medical staff can benefit from the immunity protections of this act. Although the process that the medical staff offers does not need to be equivalent to that available in a court of law, it must be sufficient for courts to consider the proceeding fair.

We are in the process of putting together the MSP Salary Survey Report, based on our recent MSP salary survey. We are looking for MSPs and other experts to be interviewed for the report, commenting on the findings and what they are seeing in the industry. If you are interested in participating, please reach out to me at kaccorto@hcpro.com. Note: Participants will recieve a complimentary copy of the report.