QUESTION:
We recently required a member of our Medical Staff to meet with the Medical Executive Committee as an “escalated” step of encouraging this physician to change her behavior that has gone on for a number of years.  She said that she’d be happy to attend the meeting, but only if accompanied by her attorney.  Our policies do not address this issue – do we have to let the attorney attend our meeting?

ANSWER FROM HORTYSPRINGER ATTORNEY LEEANNE MITCHELL:
No.  The meeting is not a hearing.  It’s simply an opportunity for physicians to talk with one another in a collegial manner.  There’s no legal obligation to permit an attorney to attend, and the presence of an attorney would likely make the process less effective by making it seem more confrontational than it needs to be.

It’s much easier to address this situation when the policy addressing professional conduct includes language such as the following:

To promote the collegial and educational objectives of this Policy, all discussions and meetings with a Practitioner shall generally involve only the Practitioner and the appropriate Medical Staff Leaders and Hospital personnel.  No counsel representing the Practitioner or the Medical Staff or the Hospital shall attend any of these meetings.  In their discretion, Medical Staff Leaders may permit a Practitioner to invite another Practitioner to the meeting.  In such case, the invited Practitioner may not participate in the discussion or in any way serve as an advocate for the Practitioner under review, must sign a Confidentiality Agreement, and may be required to leave the meeting at any time.

Of course, the physician may consult an attorney prior to the meeting (and the physician shouldn’t be discouraged from doing so).  The attorney could even accompany the physician to the hospital and wait in an appropriate location – outside of the meeting – if the physician insists.  But there’s no obligation to allow the attorney to accompany the physician during the meeting.

If you have a quick question about this, e-mail LeeAnne at lmitchell@hortyspringer.com.