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A renewed focus on hospital bylaws

Credentialing Resource Center Connection, May 3, 2007

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The relationship between physicians and the hospitals they work in is constantly changing and, in some cases, has become competitive as both entities vie for the same healthcare dollars. Add to that the need to keep up with evolving Joint Commission standards, and the importance of having comprehensive, up-to-date bylaws is clear.

"Any hospital that has not had its medical staff bylaws updated in the last five years should do it, because the issues change so frequently they could get in trouble," Dan Mulholland, a partner in Horty Springer & Mattern, a healthcare law firm in Pittsburgh, tells HealthLeaders Magazine in the April edition.

Healthcare organizations must revise their medical staff bylaws to reflect the latest Joint Commission standards, but should also write bylaws in a way that allows both hospitals and physicians to operate successfully, HealthLeaders reports. "If there is language in them that can hamstring a hospital's ability to fulfill its mission, that can really tie a hospital up," Mulholland says.

He cites two examples:

• If a hospital wishes to enter into an exclusive relationship with, for example, a radiology group, other radiologists on the medical staff may look to the bylaws to prohibit the move.
• If the bylaws outline a lengthy due process mechanism for physicians accused of providing poor patient care, the hospital and other members of the medical staff can be embroiled in what Mulholland calls a "nightmarish Dickensian ordeal," courtesy of the bylaws.

To read the entire article, "Building Better Bylaws," click here.

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