Thornton v. Holdenville Gen. Hosp.,
No. 94878 (Okla. Ct. App. Oct. 30, 2001) (modifying decision of May 8, 2001, the mandate of which was issued October 26, 2001)

An osteopathic physician, employed by a company that specializes in placing physicians in health care facilities, sued the hospital at which she had previously provided services, contending that the hospital defamed her and breached a contract with her by requesting that the company stop assigning her to the hospital. The hospital had met with the company to discuss its concerns and asked the company to no longer assign the physician to the ER.

The physician claimed that the hospital defamed her by discussing its concerns with the company. The Oklahoma Civil Court of Appeals found that the hospital could not be liable for defamation because it did not publish any statements about the physician. According to the court, the company was acting as the hospital's agent. Thus, any conversations between the hospital's employees and the company were really just conversations of the hospital itself.

Even if the hospital had published defamatory statements about the physician, the court said that the hospital could not be liable since all of the alleged statements were privileged. The privilege is derived from the hospital's duty to assure that its employees are competent.

Lastly, the court held that the hospital did not breach any contract with the physician since it had no duty to continue allowing the company to assign her to its ER. Additionally, the court said the hospital never terminated the physician's privileges, even though it was no longer employing her. Therefore, the physician had not been entitled to due process in the first place and her rights could not have been violated by being denied a hearing.