H. B. 2617
(By Delegates Huntwork and Williams, By Request)
[Introduced March 17, 1993; referred to the
Committee on Select Committee on Health Care Policies.]
A BILL to amend chapter thirty of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article three-d, relating
to hospital medical staff; providing for the protection of
medical staff rights; medical staff credentialing; and
requiring compliance in order for a hospital to renew its
license.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter thirty of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by
adding thereto a new article, designated article three-d, to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 3D. PROTECTION OF MEDICAL STAFF QUALITY ACT.
§30-3D-1. Title.
This article shall be known as the "Protection of Medical
Staff Quality Act."
§30-3D-2. Definitions.
(a) "Due process rights" means the rights to: Written
notice of grounds for a proposal to curtail, restrict or
terminate one's medical staff privileges; a hearing on the merits
or demerits of such a proposal before a disinterested person or
persons; receipt of written findings and conclusions on such
proposal by such disinterested person or persons; and such other
procedural safeguards as may be contained in the medical staff
bylaws.
(b) "Medical staff" means the formally organized self
governing body, consisting of physicians and other practitioners
who have been granted medical staff privileges in a hospital,
which has responsibility for the quality of medical care provided
to hospital patients.
(c) "Medical staff privileges" or "clinical privileges"
means permission granted to a physician or other practitioners to
render specific patient care services in a hospital, including
the necessary right of access to hospital resources, equipment,
facilities and personnel necessary to exercise those privileges.
§30-3D-3. Medical staff credentialing.
(a) A hospital licensed pursuant to chapter sixteen of this
code may not deny, restrict, revoke or terminate the staff
membership or clinical privileges of a physician or other
practitioner solely on the basis of economic criteria unrelated
to the clinical qualifications or professional responsibility of
the physician or practitioner.
(b) Medical staff peer review regarding the effect onquality of care resulting from an exclusive contractual
arrangement with any physician or other practitioner and a
resulting recommendation to the hospital governing body, shall be
required when the hospital governing body proposes:
(1) The execution of an exclusive agreement in a previously
open department or service;
(2) The renewal, transfer or substantive modification of an
exclusive agreement in a particular department or service; and
(3) The termination of an exclusive agreement in a
particular department or service.
The hospital governing board shall follow the medical
staff's recommendations unless it makes specific written findings
that such recommendation is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of
discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with the law.
(c) No person may exercise clinical privileges in the
hospital, except for those who have been granted temporary
privileges, until he or she applies for and receives medical
staff privileges after a full review of his or her qualifications
by the organized medical staff.
(d) Whether as a result of any of the proposals as referred
to in subsection (b) or otherwise, the medical staff privileges
of any medical staff member may be curtailed, restricted or
terminated only upon a formal recommendation of the medical
staff, only for those reasons directly related to quality of
patient care as shall be specified in the hospital medical staff
bylaws, and only after the according of due process rights,pursuant to the procedures specified in the Federal Health Care
Quality Improvement Act of 1986 or in accordance with provisions
of the hospital medical staff bylaws.
§30-3D-4. Nonwaiver of rights.
A hospital may not suppress the peer review procedures or
due process rights required by section three of this article
either by means of a written contract or through amendments to
medical staff or hospital bylaws or policies.
§30-3D-5. Payments for exercise of privileges.
A hospital may not solicit, require or accept any payment as
direct or indirect consideration for the award or granting by it
of the right to exercise medical staff privileges, whether
pursuant to exclusive contract or otherwise. This prohibition
does not apply to required payments of medical staff dues or
medical society dues that are required of all members of the
medical staff.
§30-3D-6. Independent cause of action.
Any medical staff member who is aggrieved by any violation
of this article may seek injunctive relief and damages from a
court of competent jurisdiction.
§30-3D-7. Compliance.
Compliance with the provisions of this article is a
requirement for granting or renewing the license of a hospital.
The procedures required by this article shall be carried out
under the rules and supervision of the department of health and
human resources.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a procedure to
protect the rights of members of the medical staff of licensed
hospitals. Under the bill, hospitals are required to follow due
process procedures in dealing with members of their medical
staff. Hospitals are required to follow recommendations of peer
review groups and they are prohibited from charging payments for
medical staff privileges. The bill also requires hospitals to
comply in order to maintain a license.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.