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Disciplinary time out

Medical Staff Leader Connection, November 15, 2007

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Dear medical staff leader:

How many hours has your medical executive committee (MEC) spent discussing professional conduct, emergency department call coverage, or medical records completion? Or the practitioner's actions that fall below the expectations established by the medical staff and its leaders? A useful tool medical staffs might want to consider to eliminate these headaches is the "disciplinary time out".

A properly written disciplinary time out policy, sometimes referred to as disciplinary suspension, in your bylaws can be an effective way to get a practitioner's attention.
The policy would allow you to suspend a practitioner's privileges for up to 14 days-and thus not trigger any rights to the fair hearing/due process required by HCQA-whenever:

• The action that has given rise to the disciplinary time out relates to one of the following policies of the medical staff: completion of medical records, practitioner behavior (disruptive practitioner policy), or requirements for emergency department coverage.
• The practitioner has received at least two warnings within the last 12 months regarding the conduct in question, specifically noting the applicable policy and stating the consequence of repeat violations.
• The practitioner has been offered an opportunity to meet with the MEC concerning this matter prior to the imposition of the disciplinary time out.

This policy can be a valuable tool for medical staff leaders facing the task of dealing with difficult colleagues and situations.

Joseph Cooper, MD
The Greeley Company

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