Arent Fox Partner Lowell Brown Talks with Bloomberg BNA about Groundbreaking Peer Review Case

Arent Fox partner Lowell C. Brown, head of the firm’s Health Care practice, was quoted in a recent Bloomberg BNA article following a novel and groundbreaking decision by the New Mexico Supreme Court when it ruled a physician can bring suit under a state’s peer review confidentiality statute against a hospital that fired him based on his conduct as a reviewer during a medical staff peer review proceeding.

Bloomberg BNA reported that the ruling appears to be the first of its kind. In its decision, the court ruled that the “New Mexico Review Organization Immunity Act created a private right of action for a breach of peer review confidentiality that led to the termination of an employed physician. The court also said that the law serves as the basis for an implied promise that physician reviewers won’t suffer adverse employment consequences from participating in peer reviews.”

Mr. Brown told Bloomberg BNA that the decision represents a “cautionary tale for hospitals everywhere.” The most “troubling aspect of this case,” he said, is that it makes it difficult to determine when a hospital can take action against an employed physician based on his conduct during peer review. Mr. Brown noted that he still doesn’t read the opinion as forbidding such disciplinary action when a pattern of egregiously bad behavior or malice is present. He added that the decision has important implications for all hospitals, particularly those with employee and nonemployee physicians, a trend that is growing thanks to the Affordable Care Act’s push toward integration in the healthcare industry.

To read the article, click here.