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A Publication of the American Health Lawyers Association                                 Volume 7 • Issue 3 • November 2008
Medical Staff, Credentialing, and Peer Review Practice Group




  MedStaff News
The Poliner Case: Required                                                                       Table of Contents
Reading for Healthcare                                                                   The Poliner Case: Required
                                                                                         Reading for Healthcare
Executives and Attorneys                                                                 Executives and Attorneys
                                                                                         William Mack Copeland, MS, JD,
William Mack Copeland, MS, JD, PhD, FACHE
                                                                                         PhD, FACHE.....................................1
Law Offices of William Mack Copeland LLC
Cincinnati, OH                                                                           Chair’s Column
                                                                                         Michael Cassidy ...............................5

O
          n July 23, 2008, the Fifth Circuit reversed a very closely watched peer
          review case, Poliner v. Texas Health Systems,1 a credentialing case out of     Hospital Bylaws as Contracts:
          the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas involving a jury    The Developing Battleground
verdict awarding $366 million to a Dallas physician.2 The federal district court
                                                                                         in Healthcare-Related
later reduced the award to $22.5 million.3 This contested peer review case was in
its eighth year, with 558 separate docket entries—and, while there was a reduc-          Employment Cases
tion in the award, the district court had sustained the majority of the earlier order    Maria Greco Danaher, Esq. ...............6
that upheld the jury verdict.4 The Fifth Circuit held that the hospital and the
physician involved were immune under the Health Care Quality Improvement Act             HHS’ Proposed Rule Implementing
(HCQIA).                                                                                 the Patient Safety and Quality
               The case is important, not for its large damage award, but because        Improvement Act May Have
                       it deals with many of the issues commonly found in                Limited Effect on Protection of
                             credentialing cases, such as confidentiality of peer         Peer Review Information
                                 review records, the HCQIA immunity, state               Anna Grizzle, Esq...........................10
                                    peer review statutes granting immunity, and
                                      damages. Both the district court and the           Are The Joint Commission’s
                                        appeals court decisions should be required       and CMS’ Requirements for
                                          reading for any attorney who practices in
                                                                                         Teleradiologists Completely
                                           the medical staff arena, whether repre-
                                            senting hospitals or physicians, serving     Linked? or: Dude, Who’s
                                             as hearing officer, or as counsel to the     Reading My Films?
                                             hearing officer or hearing panel. The        Frances Quarles, Esq. .....................14
                                              decisions are also excellent reference
                                              documents for individuals involved
                                              in the credentialing process or serving
                                              in executive positions in the hospital
                                             or medical staff. Poliner v. Texas Health
                                             Systems is a classic case of how not to
                                            impose a summary suspension.                 MedStaff News © 2008 is published by the American Health Lawyers
                                                                                         Association. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
                                                                                         reproduced in any form except by prior written permission from the
                                         Background                                      publisher. Printed in the United States of America.“This publication is
                                                                                         designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to
                                       Lawrence R. Poliner, MD, is board certified        the subject matter covered. It is provided with the understanding that the
                                                                                         publisher is not engaged in rendering legal or other professional services.
                                     in both internal medicine and cardiovascular        If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a
                                 diseases. In 1997, he held medical staff privi-         competent professional person should be sought.”
                                                                                                               —from a declaration of the American Bar Association
                              leges, including catheterization laboratory (cath lab)
MedStaff News
privileges, and was practicing cardiology at Presbyterian Hospital          for one day or at least to have it rescheduled from 8 a.m. to later
of Dallas, TX. On three separate occasions, after procedures in the         in the day. Dr. Knochel denied this request.
cath lab, nurses filed Committee Event Report Forms with respect
                                                                            The day after this meeting, the IMAC voted unanimously to
to Dr. Poliner’s procedures. The hospital’s Clinical Risk Review
                                                                            recommend suspension of Dr. Poliner’s privileges. Dr. Knochel
Committee received copies of these forms for appropriate action.
                                                                            summarily suspended Dr. Poliner’s cath lab and echocardiog-
The committee reviewed two of these cases and referred them to
                                                                            raphy privileges but allowed all other privileges to stay in place.
the Internal Medicine Department for further review. The other
                                                                            Dr. Knochel told Dr. Poliner that he was entitled to an expedited
case was also referred to Internal Medicine after review. While
                                                                            hearing.
these cases were still pending, Dr. Levin, director of the cath lab,
reviewed another of Dr. Poliner’s cases (patient number 36) and             Dr. Poliner requested a hearing but not an expedited one. The
brought it to the attention of the chief of cardiology. Dr. Levin           hearing proceeded as scheduled and the Hearing Committee
found “that Dr. Poliner performed an angioplasty on the wrong               recommended Dr. Poliner’s privileges be restored with condi-
artery and missed a totally occluded left anterior descending               tions. The Hearing Committee also found that the summary
coronary artery.”5 These issues were brought to the attention of            suspension was justified based on evidence available at the time.
Dr. Knochel, chair of internal medicine. Dr. Knochel then spoke             The hospital’s Medical Board upheld the recommendation of the
to the hospital president, vice president of medical affairs, and in-       Hearing Committee.
house counsel. The district court describes what happened next:             Dr. Poliner then requested an appeal of the summary suspen-
                                                                            sion—but was advised that, pursuant to the hospital’s bylaws,
    Dr. Knochel asked plaintiff to accept abeyance of all
                                                                            appeal was limited to a determination of whether he had been
    procedures in the cath lab until an ad hoc committee
                                                                            substantially provided due process. The appeal committee found
    appointed by Knochel could review plaintiff’s cath
                                                                            that due process was adequate and told Dr. Poliner that it did not
    lab cases. Drs. Levin and Harper were present at the
                                                                            have authority to set aside the summary suspension. The hospi-
    meeting between Knochel and plaintiff. According to
                                                                            tal’s Board of Trustees upheld the appeal committee.
    plaintiff, he was given an abeyance letter after
    2:00 p.m. on May 14, 1998, and told to sign and                         The following year, Dr. Poliner filed suit in federal court7 against
    return it by 5:00 p.m. that day or his privileges                       the hospital, Dr. Knochel, and several other physicians alleging
    would be immediately suspended. Plaintiff alleges                       antitrust violations, violation of due process, business disparage-
    he was not told about patient no. 36, was not given                     ment, slander and libel, tortious interference with business and
    an opportunity to defend himself against the accusa-                    prospective advantage, violation of the Deceptive Trade Practices
    tions, and was not told which of his patients were                      Act, and intentional infliction of mental anguish and emotional
    going to be reviewed by the ad hoc committee.                           distress. He also requested a temporary restraining order, tempo-
    Plaintiff was told not to consult an attorney before                    rary injunction and permanent injunction, declaratory relief that
    deciding whether to sign the abeyance letter. Plaintiff                 immunity under the HCQIA and the Texas Medical Practice Act
    signed and returned the abeyance letter agreeing                        did not apply, and declaratory relief that the two acts are uncon-
    to an abeyance. The abeyance of plaintiff’s cath lab                    stitutional.8
    privileges did not extend to plaintiff’s admission and
    consultation privileges at the hospital.6                               The Summary Judgment Proceeding
The peer review process proceeded in a relatively normal fashion            In the summary judgment proceeding, the court dismissed the
after this, with an ad hoc committee formed to review Dr. Polin-            antitrust claims,9 as well as all charges against physicians other
er’s cases. Finding substantial problems, the ad hoc committee              than Knochel, Harper, and Levin. The court found that the
referred the matter to the Internal Medicine Advisory Committee             HCQIA protected the dismissed physicians. Regarding Knochel,
(IMAC). At its meeting on May 27, the IMAC recommended                      Harper, Levin, and the hospital, the court found “a complete
additional reviews by an outside reviewer; however, an outside              failure to investigate and to gather all of the facts from both sides
reviewer was not available in time for a scheduled meeting with             before Dr. Knochel summarily suspended plaintiff’s privileges
Dr. Poliner. The IMAC also recommended that the abeyance be                 by telling plaintiff to sign the abeyance letter or face immediate
extended as was provided in the bylaws. At Dr. Knochel’s direc-             suspension.”10
tion, a letter was hand-delivered to Dr. Poliner for his consent            Another interesting finding in the summary judgment proceeding
to the extension. Dr. Poliner was advised that the extension was            was that the hospital’s bylaws, not the medical staff bylaws,
investigational in nature with the ad hoc committee reviewing               created a contract between the hospital and the physicians and
forty-four of his cases. The letter indicated that Dr. Poliner would        provided contractual due process rights. Therefore, the court
have an opportunity to meet with the IMAC to respond to the ad              denied summary judgment for the hospital on the breach of
hoc committee review. Dr. Knochel again told Dr. Poliner that the           contract claims.11
alternative to abeyance was suspension. On May 29, Dr. Poliner
signed the extension request.                                               In addition, the court denied summary judgment to Knochel,
                                                                            Harper, Levin, and the hospital on the other state law claims.
Dr. Poliner received only three days notice of this meeting in              The court found that actual malice was a fact issue with regard
which he was to defend his cases. He requested a postponement               to these defendants, indicating that there was evidence that these
                                                                        2
defendants “violated their own bylaws as well as the HCQIA
in summarily suspending Dr. Poliner’s privileges.”12 Dr. Poliner
subsequently settled with Drs. Harper and Levin,13 and the case
went to trial with Dr. Knochel and the hospital as the only defen-
dants.

The Jury Decision
The jury handed down a unanimous verdict on August 27, 2004,
finding that defendants acted with actual malice and without
justification or privilege. The jury award for compensatory
and exemplary damages was $366,210,159.30.14 Based on the
evidence, the jury concluded that:
1. The action to suspend Dr. Poliner’s cardiac cath lab privileges
   was not undertaken in the reasonable belief that the action
   furthered quality healthcare; Dr. Knochel testified that he did
   not have enough information to assess whether Dr. Poliner
   posed a present danger to his patients;15
2. The action lacked good faith and was taken with malice;16                 definition of “peer review action,” and what we
3. There was not adequate notice and hearing procedures                      consider is whether these “peer review actions”
   afforded Dr. Poliner; the only option he was offered was the              satisfy the HCQIA’s standards, and not whether the
   abeyance, and he was not allowed to consult with an attorney              “abeyances” satisfy the bylaws.
   before accepting the abeyance; in addition, defendants would              We deal with one other preliminary matter now. The
   not discuss patient cases with him;17 and                                 decision to extend the abeyance was made after the
4. There was not a reasonable effort to obtain the facts of the              ad hoc committee reported the results of its review
   matter.18                                                                 to Knochel and the IMAC; however, because of the
                                                                             district court’s pre-trial order of July 7, the jury did
On September 18, 2006, the district court determined that
                                                                             not learn of this. This does not impede our consid-
the award was excessive and reduced it to $22,542,206.20,
                                                                             eration of the evidence because the district court’s
$21 million in actual damages and $1,542,106.20 in punitive
                                                                             summary judgment and July 7 orders establish the
damages.19 The court subsequently granted a settlement credit
                                                                             relevant historical facts and the propriety of the ad
for the settlement with Drs. Levin and Harper and set the award
                                                                             hoc committee review for HCQIA purposes. The
at $21,000,000.00 in non-economic actual damages, $7,894.92
                                                                             district court found that the ad hoc committee
in lost wages and $1,542,106.20 in punitive damages, for a total
                                                                             members were entitled to HCQIA immunity, and
award of $22,550,001.12.20
                                                                             more to the point, the ad hoc committee’s review
                                                                             undergirded the grant of HCQIA immunity for the
The Appeals Court Decision                                                   June 12 suspension.21
On July 23, 2008, the appeals court reversed the district court
                                                                         Regarding whether the actions were taken in the reasonable belief
and ruled in favor of the hospital and the defendant physician.
                                                                         that they were in furtherance of quality healthcare, the appeals
This decision is very instructive because the court provides a
                                                                         court, quoting Meyers v. Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp., 341 F   .3d
great deal of insight into how the courts construe the HCQIA.
                                                                         461, 468 (6th Cir. 2003) and Imperial v. Suburban Hosp. Ass’n, Inc.,
Finding that the defendants were entitled to immunity under              37 F 1026, 1030 (4th Cir. 1994), stated:
                                                                             .3d
the HCQIA with regard to the abeyance and the extension of the
abeyance, the appeals court stated:                                          [T]he “reasonable belief” standard of the HCQIA is
                                                                             satisfied if “the reviewers, with the information avail-
    The jury was charged that the May 14 abeyance and                        able to them at the time of the professional review
    the extension of the abeyance were both professional                     action, would reasonably have concluded that their
    review actions. We agree. . . .                                          action would restrict incompetent behavior or would
    To be clear, the abeyances are temporary restric-                        protect patients. . . . [T]he Act does not require that
    tions of privileges, and we use that terminology,                        the professional review result in an actual improve-
    which comes from the Medical Staff bylaws, in our                        ment of the quality of health care,” nor does it
    discussion; but for the purposes of HCQIA immu-                          require that the conclusions reached by the reviewers
    nity from money damages, what matters is that the                        were, in fact correct. It bears emphasizing that “the
    restriction of privileges falls within the statute’s                     good or bad faith of the reviewers is irrelevant rather


                                                                     3
MedStaff News
    it is an objective inquiry in which we consider the
    totality of the circumstances. . . .”
    The ad hoc committee’s review, upon which the
    extension of the abeyance rested, speaks for itself.
    A group of six cardiologists reviewed 44 of Poliner’s
    cases and concluded that he gave substandard care in
    more than half of the cases. We conclude that, as to
    both peer review actions, the belief that temporarily
    restricting Poliner’s cath lab privileges during an
    investigation would further quality health care was
    objectively reasonable. 22
Regarding the contention by Dr. Poliner that the restriction on
his privileges resulted from anticompetitive motives, the appeals
court indicated that “[o]ur sister circuits have roundly rejected
the argument that such subjective motivations overcome HCQIA
immunity, as do we.”23
The appeals court found that no reasonable jury could conclude
that defendants failed to make a reasonable effort to obtain the
facts.

    [A]s to the abeyance extension, Knochel relied on
    the review of 44 cases conducted by the ad hoc
    committee. . . . Knochel was entitled to rely on the
    information provided to him by the other doctors,
    and there is nothing to suggest that the informa-                       Finally, we consider whether each peer review action
    tion was facially flawed or otherwise so obviously                       was taken “in the reasonable belief that the action
    deficient so as to render Defendants’ reliance unrea-                    was warranted by the facts known after such reason-
    sonable. . . . [T]he [HCQIA] imposes a uniform set                      able effort to obtain facts. . . . Our analysis under
    of national standards. Provided that a peer review                      § 11112(a)(4) closely tracks our analysis under
    action as defined by the statute complies with those                     § 11112(a)(1).” In both instances, the temporary
    standards, a failure to comply with hospital bylaws                     restrictions were “tailored to address the health care
    does not defeat a peer reviewer’s right to HCQIA                        concerns” that had been raised—procedures in the
    immunity from damages.24                                                cath lab—leaving untouched Poliner’s other privi-
                                                                            leges. Nor was the information relayed to Knochel
Citing § 11112(c) of the HCQIA, the appeals court found that the
                                                                            “so obviously mistaken or inadequate as to make
actions taken by the defendants satisfy the procedural require-
                                                                            reliance on [it] unreasonable.” There was an objec-
ments of the Act: “The abeyance was a restriction of privileges that
                                                                            tively reasonable basis for concluding that tempo-
was imposed to allow for an investigation to determine whether
                                                                            rarily restricting Poliner’s privileges during the course
other action, such as a suspension, was necessary.”25 Dr. Poliner
                                                                            of the investigation was warranted by the facts then
had argued that defendants did not comply because the restric-
                                                                            known, and for essentially the reasons given above,
tion lasted fifteen days, one day longer than permissible: “For
                                                                            we hold that Defendants satisfy this prong.
immunity purposes it is of no moment that they requested Poliner’s
consent to the extension of the abeyance on May 29, the purported           To allow an attack years later upon the ultimate
fifteenth day, because the decision to further restrict his privileges       “truth” of judgments made by peer reviewers
was made within the required 14 days.”26                                    supported by objective evidence would drain all
                                                                            meaning from the statute. The congressional grant
Citing the emergency provision of § 11112(c)(2), the appeals
                                                                            of immunity accepts that few physicians would be
court found that the extension of the abeyance falls within these
                                                                            willing to serve on peer review committees under
parameters, because “[t]he ‘emergency’ provision requires only
                                                                            such a threat; as our sister circuit explains, “the
that a failure to act may result in an imminent danger to the
                                                                            intent of [the HCQIA] was not to disturb, but to
health of any individual. . . . Defendants were fully warranted in
                                                                            reinforce, the preexisting reluctance of courts to
concluding that failing to impose further temporary restrictions
                                                                            substitute their judgment on the merits for that of
‘may result’ in an imminent danger.”27
                                                                            health care professionals and of the governing bodies
The court concluded that the actions taken by the defendants                of hospitals in an area within their expertise.” At the
were taken in the reasonable belief that the action was warranted           least, it is not our role to re-weigh this judgment and
by the facts known at the time:                                             balancing of interests by Congress.28

                                                                        4
This case shows how important following one’s bylaws, state                                8    Id. at 4.
peer review laws and the HCQIA is. It also provides a good                                 9    Id. at 13.
                                                                                           10   Id. at 31.
reference guide for physicians’ counsel to review what steps the
                                                                                           11   Id. at 19.
hospital and its medical staff must accomplish prior to imposing                           12   Id. at 31.
a summary suspension, or any other peer review action for that                             13   Doc. 494 at 8.
matter.                                                                                    14   Doc. 483 at 3.
                                                                                           15   Id. at 7-8.
                                                                                           16   Id. at 10.
1 Poliner v. Texas Health Sys., No. 06-11235 (5th Cir. July 23, 2008).                     17   Id. at 9.
2 Poliner v. Texas Health Systems, U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13125 (N.D. Tex. Mar. 27, 2006).       18   Id.
  (Referenced herein as Doc. 488).                                                         19   Doc. 238 at 9.
3 Poliner v. Texas Health Systems, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66819 (N.D. Tex.                  20   Doc. 494 at 9.
  Sept. 18, 2006) (Referenced herein as Doc. 483); Poliner v. Texas Health                 21   Poliner v. Texas Health Sys., No. 06-11235 (5th Cir. July 23, 2008) at 16.
  Systems, 239 F   .R.D. 468, 239 F .R.D. 468; 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74569                      (Citations ommitted.)
  (N. Dist. TX Oct. 13, 2006). (Referenced herein as Doc. 494).                            22   Id. at 16-17. (Citations omitted.)
4 See also the court’s September 2003 summary judgment order, Poliner v. Texas             23   Id. at 19. (Citations omitted.)
  Health Systems, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17162 (N.D. Tex. Sept. 30, 2003).                  24   Id. at 20. (Citations omitted.)
  (Referenced herein as Doc. 238).                                                         25   Id. at 22-23.
5 Doc. 238 at 7.                                                                           26   Id. at 23.
6 Id. at 7 and 8.                                                                          27   Id.
7 Id. at 8-11.                                                                             28   Id. at 27. (Citations omitted.)




    Chair’s Column                                                                     MSCPR PG has already been active in cosponsoring two
                                                                                       educational programs—“A New Battleground: The Clash
                                                                                       Between Peer Review Protection and Civil Rights Claims,”
    Michael A. Cassidy
                                                                                       at which Maria Danaher of the Pittsburgh office of Ogle-
    Tucker Arensberg PC                                                                tree Deakins and Maria Abrahamsen of Dykema Gossett
    Pittsburgh, PA                                                                     co-presented with Rob Niccolini of McGuire Woods as
                                                                                       moderator, and “Poliner Postmortem: Implications for


    T
          he Medical Staff Credentialing and Peer Review                               Hospitals and Medical Staff Members,” at which Bill
          Practice Group (MSCPR PG) has had an active                                  Hinnant of Medicolegal Consultants and Jeff Moseley of
          start for its new program year. The vice chairs and                          Buerger co-presented, with yours truly as the Moderator.
    responsibilities for the current year are as follows:
                                                                                       Steve Kleinman has been active in the publications
    • Keith Shiner of Reed Smith                                                       area. This is the third newsletter produced under Steve’s
      (kshiner@reedsmith.com)—Website;                                                 leadership, and the November 2008 edition of AHLA
    • Patricia Hofstra of Duane Morris                                                 Health Lawyers News will present a feature article entitled
      (phofstra@duanemorris.com)—Membership and                                        “Collision Course: The Intersection of Employment Cases
      Affinity Group Development;                                                       and Peer Review Information” by Maria Danaher. Michael
                                                                                       Callahan has been active in discussions with Sidney Welch
    • Michael Callahan of Katten Muchin                                                of the Physician Organizations PG and Brian Gradle of
      (michael.callahan@kattenlaw.com)—Educational                                     the Hospital and Health Systems PG discussing plans to
      Programs and MS1.20 Task Force Development;                                      establish a task force to deal with the expected revision
                                                                                       of The Joint Commission MS1.20 Hospital Accreditation
    • Tim Adelman of Adelman Sheff and Smith                                           Standards. Tim Adelman is working with the Healthcare
      (tadelman@hospitallaw.com)—Research and Peer                                     Liability and Litigation PG to establish a Peer Review
      Review Toolkit; and                                                              Toolkit, which is intended to include not only the decisions
                                                                                       but a brief bank for credentialing decisions.
    • Steve Kleinman of Schottenstein Zox & Dunn
      (skleinman@szd.com)—Publications and Emergency                                   We look forward to a very productive year and invite your
      Preparedness Taskforce.                                                          participation in the upcoming programs, but also we invite
                                                                                       you to submit articles for this newsletter—which you can
                                                                                       do by contacting Steve Kleinman.



                                                                                       5

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The Poliner Case

  • 1. A Publication of the American Health Lawyers Association Volume 7 • Issue 3 • November 2008 Medical Staff, Credentialing, and Peer Review Practice Group MedStaff News The Poliner Case: Required Table of Contents Reading for Healthcare The Poliner Case: Required Reading for Healthcare Executives and Attorneys Executives and Attorneys William Mack Copeland, MS, JD, William Mack Copeland, MS, JD, PhD, FACHE PhD, FACHE.....................................1 Law Offices of William Mack Copeland LLC Cincinnati, OH Chair’s Column Michael Cassidy ...............................5 O n July 23, 2008, the Fifth Circuit reversed a very closely watched peer review case, Poliner v. Texas Health Systems,1 a credentialing case out of Hospital Bylaws as Contracts: the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas involving a jury The Developing Battleground verdict awarding $366 million to a Dallas physician.2 The federal district court in Healthcare-Related later reduced the award to $22.5 million.3 This contested peer review case was in its eighth year, with 558 separate docket entries—and, while there was a reduc- Employment Cases tion in the award, the district court had sustained the majority of the earlier order Maria Greco Danaher, Esq. ...............6 that upheld the jury verdict.4 The Fifth Circuit held that the hospital and the physician involved were immune under the Health Care Quality Improvement Act HHS’ Proposed Rule Implementing (HCQIA). the Patient Safety and Quality The case is important, not for its large damage award, but because Improvement Act May Have it deals with many of the issues commonly found in Limited Effect on Protection of credentialing cases, such as confidentiality of peer Peer Review Information review records, the HCQIA immunity, state Anna Grizzle, Esq...........................10 peer review statutes granting immunity, and damages. Both the district court and the Are The Joint Commission’s appeals court decisions should be required and CMS’ Requirements for reading for any attorney who practices in Teleradiologists Completely the medical staff arena, whether repre- senting hospitals or physicians, serving Linked? or: Dude, Who’s as hearing officer, or as counsel to the Reading My Films? hearing officer or hearing panel. The Frances Quarles, Esq. .....................14 decisions are also excellent reference documents for individuals involved in the credentialing process or serving in executive positions in the hospital or medical staff. Poliner v. Texas Health Systems is a classic case of how not to impose a summary suspension. MedStaff News © 2008 is published by the American Health Lawyers Association. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form except by prior written permission from the Background publisher. Printed in the United States of America.“This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to Lawrence R. Poliner, MD, is board certified the subject matter covered. It is provided with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal or other professional services. in both internal medicine and cardiovascular If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a diseases. In 1997, he held medical staff privi- competent professional person should be sought.” —from a declaration of the American Bar Association leges, including catheterization laboratory (cath lab)
  • 2. MedStaff News privileges, and was practicing cardiology at Presbyterian Hospital for one day or at least to have it rescheduled from 8 a.m. to later of Dallas, TX. On three separate occasions, after procedures in the in the day. Dr. Knochel denied this request. cath lab, nurses filed Committee Event Report Forms with respect The day after this meeting, the IMAC voted unanimously to to Dr. Poliner’s procedures. The hospital’s Clinical Risk Review recommend suspension of Dr. Poliner’s privileges. Dr. Knochel Committee received copies of these forms for appropriate action. summarily suspended Dr. Poliner’s cath lab and echocardiog- The committee reviewed two of these cases and referred them to raphy privileges but allowed all other privileges to stay in place. the Internal Medicine Department for further review. The other Dr. Knochel told Dr. Poliner that he was entitled to an expedited case was also referred to Internal Medicine after review. While hearing. these cases were still pending, Dr. Levin, director of the cath lab, reviewed another of Dr. Poliner’s cases (patient number 36) and Dr. Poliner requested a hearing but not an expedited one. The brought it to the attention of the chief of cardiology. Dr. Levin hearing proceeded as scheduled and the Hearing Committee found “that Dr. Poliner performed an angioplasty on the wrong recommended Dr. Poliner’s privileges be restored with condi- artery and missed a totally occluded left anterior descending tions. The Hearing Committee also found that the summary coronary artery.”5 These issues were brought to the attention of suspension was justified based on evidence available at the time. Dr. Knochel, chair of internal medicine. Dr. Knochel then spoke The hospital’s Medical Board upheld the recommendation of the to the hospital president, vice president of medical affairs, and in- Hearing Committee. house counsel. The district court describes what happened next: Dr. Poliner then requested an appeal of the summary suspen- sion—but was advised that, pursuant to the hospital’s bylaws, Dr. Knochel asked plaintiff to accept abeyance of all appeal was limited to a determination of whether he had been procedures in the cath lab until an ad hoc committee substantially provided due process. The appeal committee found appointed by Knochel could review plaintiff’s cath that due process was adequate and told Dr. Poliner that it did not lab cases. Drs. Levin and Harper were present at the have authority to set aside the summary suspension. The hospi- meeting between Knochel and plaintiff. According to tal’s Board of Trustees upheld the appeal committee. plaintiff, he was given an abeyance letter after 2:00 p.m. on May 14, 1998, and told to sign and The following year, Dr. Poliner filed suit in federal court7 against return it by 5:00 p.m. that day or his privileges the hospital, Dr. Knochel, and several other physicians alleging would be immediately suspended. Plaintiff alleges antitrust violations, violation of due process, business disparage- he was not told about patient no. 36, was not given ment, slander and libel, tortious interference with business and an opportunity to defend himself against the accusa- prospective advantage, violation of the Deceptive Trade Practices tions, and was not told which of his patients were Act, and intentional infliction of mental anguish and emotional going to be reviewed by the ad hoc committee. distress. He also requested a temporary restraining order, tempo- Plaintiff was told not to consult an attorney before rary injunction and permanent injunction, declaratory relief that deciding whether to sign the abeyance letter. Plaintiff immunity under the HCQIA and the Texas Medical Practice Act signed and returned the abeyance letter agreeing did not apply, and declaratory relief that the two acts are uncon- to an abeyance. The abeyance of plaintiff’s cath lab stitutional.8 privileges did not extend to plaintiff’s admission and consultation privileges at the hospital.6 The Summary Judgment Proceeding The peer review process proceeded in a relatively normal fashion In the summary judgment proceeding, the court dismissed the after this, with an ad hoc committee formed to review Dr. Polin- antitrust claims,9 as well as all charges against physicians other er’s cases. Finding substantial problems, the ad hoc committee than Knochel, Harper, and Levin. The court found that the referred the matter to the Internal Medicine Advisory Committee HCQIA protected the dismissed physicians. Regarding Knochel, (IMAC). At its meeting on May 27, the IMAC recommended Harper, Levin, and the hospital, the court found “a complete additional reviews by an outside reviewer; however, an outside failure to investigate and to gather all of the facts from both sides reviewer was not available in time for a scheduled meeting with before Dr. Knochel summarily suspended plaintiff’s privileges Dr. Poliner. The IMAC also recommended that the abeyance be by telling plaintiff to sign the abeyance letter or face immediate extended as was provided in the bylaws. At Dr. Knochel’s direc- suspension.”10 tion, a letter was hand-delivered to Dr. Poliner for his consent Another interesting finding in the summary judgment proceeding to the extension. Dr. Poliner was advised that the extension was was that the hospital’s bylaws, not the medical staff bylaws, investigational in nature with the ad hoc committee reviewing created a contract between the hospital and the physicians and forty-four of his cases. The letter indicated that Dr. Poliner would provided contractual due process rights. Therefore, the court have an opportunity to meet with the IMAC to respond to the ad denied summary judgment for the hospital on the breach of hoc committee review. Dr. Knochel again told Dr. Poliner that the contract claims.11 alternative to abeyance was suspension. On May 29, Dr. Poliner signed the extension request. In addition, the court denied summary judgment to Knochel, Harper, Levin, and the hospital on the other state law claims. Dr. Poliner received only three days notice of this meeting in The court found that actual malice was a fact issue with regard which he was to defend his cases. He requested a postponement to these defendants, indicating that there was evidence that these 2
  • 3. defendants “violated their own bylaws as well as the HCQIA in summarily suspending Dr. Poliner’s privileges.”12 Dr. Poliner subsequently settled with Drs. Harper and Levin,13 and the case went to trial with Dr. Knochel and the hospital as the only defen- dants. The Jury Decision The jury handed down a unanimous verdict on August 27, 2004, finding that defendants acted with actual malice and without justification or privilege. The jury award for compensatory and exemplary damages was $366,210,159.30.14 Based on the evidence, the jury concluded that: 1. The action to suspend Dr. Poliner’s cardiac cath lab privileges was not undertaken in the reasonable belief that the action furthered quality healthcare; Dr. Knochel testified that he did not have enough information to assess whether Dr. Poliner posed a present danger to his patients;15 2. The action lacked good faith and was taken with malice;16 definition of “peer review action,” and what we 3. There was not adequate notice and hearing procedures consider is whether these “peer review actions” afforded Dr. Poliner; the only option he was offered was the satisfy the HCQIA’s standards, and not whether the abeyance, and he was not allowed to consult with an attorney “abeyances” satisfy the bylaws. before accepting the abeyance; in addition, defendants would We deal with one other preliminary matter now. The not discuss patient cases with him;17 and decision to extend the abeyance was made after the 4. There was not a reasonable effort to obtain the facts of the ad hoc committee reported the results of its review matter.18 to Knochel and the IMAC; however, because of the district court’s pre-trial order of July 7, the jury did On September 18, 2006, the district court determined that not learn of this. This does not impede our consid- the award was excessive and reduced it to $22,542,206.20, eration of the evidence because the district court’s $21 million in actual damages and $1,542,106.20 in punitive summary judgment and July 7 orders establish the damages.19 The court subsequently granted a settlement credit relevant historical facts and the propriety of the ad for the settlement with Drs. Levin and Harper and set the award hoc committee review for HCQIA purposes. The at $21,000,000.00 in non-economic actual damages, $7,894.92 district court found that the ad hoc committee in lost wages and $1,542,106.20 in punitive damages, for a total members were entitled to HCQIA immunity, and award of $22,550,001.12.20 more to the point, the ad hoc committee’s review undergirded the grant of HCQIA immunity for the The Appeals Court Decision June 12 suspension.21 On July 23, 2008, the appeals court reversed the district court Regarding whether the actions were taken in the reasonable belief and ruled in favor of the hospital and the defendant physician. that they were in furtherance of quality healthcare, the appeals This decision is very instructive because the court provides a court, quoting Meyers v. Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp., 341 F .3d great deal of insight into how the courts construe the HCQIA. 461, 468 (6th Cir. 2003) and Imperial v. Suburban Hosp. Ass’n, Inc., Finding that the defendants were entitled to immunity under 37 F 1026, 1030 (4th Cir. 1994), stated: .3d the HCQIA with regard to the abeyance and the extension of the abeyance, the appeals court stated: [T]he “reasonable belief” standard of the HCQIA is satisfied if “the reviewers, with the information avail- The jury was charged that the May 14 abeyance and able to them at the time of the professional review the extension of the abeyance were both professional action, would reasonably have concluded that their review actions. We agree. . . . action would restrict incompetent behavior or would To be clear, the abeyances are temporary restric- protect patients. . . . [T]he Act does not require that tions of privileges, and we use that terminology, the professional review result in an actual improve- which comes from the Medical Staff bylaws, in our ment of the quality of health care,” nor does it discussion; but for the purposes of HCQIA immu- require that the conclusions reached by the reviewers nity from money damages, what matters is that the were, in fact correct. It bears emphasizing that “the restriction of privileges falls within the statute’s good or bad faith of the reviewers is irrelevant rather 3
  • 4. MedStaff News it is an objective inquiry in which we consider the totality of the circumstances. . . .” The ad hoc committee’s review, upon which the extension of the abeyance rested, speaks for itself. A group of six cardiologists reviewed 44 of Poliner’s cases and concluded that he gave substandard care in more than half of the cases. We conclude that, as to both peer review actions, the belief that temporarily restricting Poliner’s cath lab privileges during an investigation would further quality health care was objectively reasonable. 22 Regarding the contention by Dr. Poliner that the restriction on his privileges resulted from anticompetitive motives, the appeals court indicated that “[o]ur sister circuits have roundly rejected the argument that such subjective motivations overcome HCQIA immunity, as do we.”23 The appeals court found that no reasonable jury could conclude that defendants failed to make a reasonable effort to obtain the facts. [A]s to the abeyance extension, Knochel relied on the review of 44 cases conducted by the ad hoc committee. . . . Knochel was entitled to rely on the information provided to him by the other doctors, and there is nothing to suggest that the informa- Finally, we consider whether each peer review action tion was facially flawed or otherwise so obviously was taken “in the reasonable belief that the action deficient so as to render Defendants’ reliance unrea- was warranted by the facts known after such reason- sonable. . . . [T]he [HCQIA] imposes a uniform set able effort to obtain facts. . . . Our analysis under of national standards. Provided that a peer review § 11112(a)(4) closely tracks our analysis under action as defined by the statute complies with those § 11112(a)(1).” In both instances, the temporary standards, a failure to comply with hospital bylaws restrictions were “tailored to address the health care does not defeat a peer reviewer’s right to HCQIA concerns” that had been raised—procedures in the immunity from damages.24 cath lab—leaving untouched Poliner’s other privi- leges. Nor was the information relayed to Knochel Citing § 11112(c) of the HCQIA, the appeals court found that the “so obviously mistaken or inadequate as to make actions taken by the defendants satisfy the procedural require- reliance on [it] unreasonable.” There was an objec- ments of the Act: “The abeyance was a restriction of privileges that tively reasonable basis for concluding that tempo- was imposed to allow for an investigation to determine whether rarily restricting Poliner’s privileges during the course other action, such as a suspension, was necessary.”25 Dr. Poliner of the investigation was warranted by the facts then had argued that defendants did not comply because the restric- known, and for essentially the reasons given above, tion lasted fifteen days, one day longer than permissible: “For we hold that Defendants satisfy this prong. immunity purposes it is of no moment that they requested Poliner’s consent to the extension of the abeyance on May 29, the purported To allow an attack years later upon the ultimate fifteenth day, because the decision to further restrict his privileges “truth” of judgments made by peer reviewers was made within the required 14 days.”26 supported by objective evidence would drain all meaning from the statute. The congressional grant Citing the emergency provision of § 11112(c)(2), the appeals of immunity accepts that few physicians would be court found that the extension of the abeyance falls within these willing to serve on peer review committees under parameters, because “[t]he ‘emergency’ provision requires only such a threat; as our sister circuit explains, “the that a failure to act may result in an imminent danger to the intent of [the HCQIA] was not to disturb, but to health of any individual. . . . Defendants were fully warranted in reinforce, the preexisting reluctance of courts to concluding that failing to impose further temporary restrictions substitute their judgment on the merits for that of ‘may result’ in an imminent danger.”27 health care professionals and of the governing bodies The court concluded that the actions taken by the defendants of hospitals in an area within their expertise.” At the were taken in the reasonable belief that the action was warranted least, it is not our role to re-weigh this judgment and by the facts known at the time: balancing of interests by Congress.28 4
  • 5. This case shows how important following one’s bylaws, state 8 Id. at 4. peer review laws and the HCQIA is. It also provides a good 9 Id. at 13. 10 Id. at 31. reference guide for physicians’ counsel to review what steps the 11 Id. at 19. hospital and its medical staff must accomplish prior to imposing 12 Id. at 31. a summary suspension, or any other peer review action for that 13 Doc. 494 at 8. matter. 14 Doc. 483 at 3. 15 Id. at 7-8. 16 Id. at 10. 1 Poliner v. Texas Health Sys., No. 06-11235 (5th Cir. July 23, 2008). 17 Id. at 9. 2 Poliner v. Texas Health Systems, U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13125 (N.D. Tex. Mar. 27, 2006). 18 Id. (Referenced herein as Doc. 488). 19 Doc. 238 at 9. 3 Poliner v. Texas Health Systems, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66819 (N.D. Tex. 20 Doc. 494 at 9. Sept. 18, 2006) (Referenced herein as Doc. 483); Poliner v. Texas Health 21 Poliner v. Texas Health Sys., No. 06-11235 (5th Cir. July 23, 2008) at 16. Systems, 239 F .R.D. 468, 239 F .R.D. 468; 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74569 (Citations ommitted.) (N. Dist. TX Oct. 13, 2006). (Referenced herein as Doc. 494). 22 Id. at 16-17. (Citations omitted.) 4 See also the court’s September 2003 summary judgment order, Poliner v. Texas 23 Id. at 19. (Citations omitted.) Health Systems, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17162 (N.D. Tex. Sept. 30, 2003). 24 Id. at 20. (Citations omitted.) (Referenced herein as Doc. 238). 25 Id. at 22-23. 5 Doc. 238 at 7. 26 Id. at 23. 6 Id. at 7 and 8. 27 Id. 7 Id. at 8-11. 28 Id. at 27. (Citations omitted.) Chair’s Column MSCPR PG has already been active in cosponsoring two educational programs—“A New Battleground: The Clash Between Peer Review Protection and Civil Rights Claims,” Michael A. Cassidy at which Maria Danaher of the Pittsburgh office of Ogle- Tucker Arensberg PC tree Deakins and Maria Abrahamsen of Dykema Gossett Pittsburgh, PA co-presented with Rob Niccolini of McGuire Woods as moderator, and “Poliner Postmortem: Implications for T he Medical Staff Credentialing and Peer Review Hospitals and Medical Staff Members,” at which Bill Practice Group (MSCPR PG) has had an active Hinnant of Medicolegal Consultants and Jeff Moseley of start for its new program year. The vice chairs and Buerger co-presented, with yours truly as the Moderator. responsibilities for the current year are as follows: Steve Kleinman has been active in the publications • Keith Shiner of Reed Smith area. This is the third newsletter produced under Steve’s (kshiner@reedsmith.com)—Website; leadership, and the November 2008 edition of AHLA • Patricia Hofstra of Duane Morris Health Lawyers News will present a feature article entitled (phofstra@duanemorris.com)—Membership and “Collision Course: The Intersection of Employment Cases Affinity Group Development; and Peer Review Information” by Maria Danaher. Michael Callahan has been active in discussions with Sidney Welch • Michael Callahan of Katten Muchin of the Physician Organizations PG and Brian Gradle of (michael.callahan@kattenlaw.com)—Educational the Hospital and Health Systems PG discussing plans to Programs and MS1.20 Task Force Development; establish a task force to deal with the expected revision of The Joint Commission MS1.20 Hospital Accreditation • Tim Adelman of Adelman Sheff and Smith Standards. Tim Adelman is working with the Healthcare (tadelman@hospitallaw.com)—Research and Peer Liability and Litigation PG to establish a Peer Review Review Toolkit; and Toolkit, which is intended to include not only the decisions but a brief bank for credentialing decisions. • Steve Kleinman of Schottenstein Zox & Dunn (skleinman@szd.com)—Publications and Emergency We look forward to a very productive year and invite your Preparedness Taskforce. participation in the upcoming programs, but also we invite you to submit articles for this newsletter—which you can do by contacting Steve Kleinman. 5