§ 2801-B — Improper practices in hospital staff appointments and extension of professional privileges prohibited

§ 2801-b. Improper practices in hospital staff appointments and\nextension of professional privileges prohibited. 1. It shall be an\nimproper practice for the governing body of a hospital to refuse to act\nupon an application for staff membership or professional privileges or\nto deny or withhold from a physician, podiatrist, optometrist, dentist\nor licensed midwife staff membership or professional privileges in a\nhospital, or to exclude or expel a physician, podiatrist, optometrist,\ndentist or licensed midwife from staff membership in a hospital or\ncurtail, terminate or diminish in any way a physician's, podiatrist's,\noptometrist's, dentist's or licensed midwife's professional privileges\nin a hospital, without stating the reasons therefor, or if the reasons\nstated are unrelated to standards of patient care, patient welfare, the\nobjectives of the institution or the character or competency of the\napplicant. It shall be an improper practice for a governing body of a\nhospital to refuse to act upon an application or to deny or to withhold\nstaff membership or professional privileges to a podiatrist based solely\nupon a practitioner's category of licensure.\n 2. Any person claiming to be aggrieved by an improper practice as\ndefined in this section may, by himself or his attorney, make, sign and\nfile with the public health council a verified complaint in writing\nwhich shall state the name and address of the hospital whose governing\nbody is alleged to have committed the improper practice complained of\nand which shall set forth the particulars thereof and contain such other\ninformation as may be required by the council.\n 3. After the filing of any such complaint, the public health council\nshall make a prompt investigation in connection therewith. In conducting\nsuch investigation, the public health council is authorized to receive\nreports from the governing body of the hospital and the complainant, as\nthe case may be, and the furnishing of such information to the public\nhealth council, or by the council to the governing body or complainant,\nshall not subject any person or hospital to any action for damages or\nother relief. Such information when received by the public health\ncouncil, or its authorized representative, shall be kept confidential\nand shall be used solely for the purposes of this section and the\nimprovement of the standards of patient care and patient welfare. The\nrecords of such proceedings shall not be admissible as evidence in any\nother action of any kind in any court or before any other tribunal,\nboard, agency, or person. If the council shall determine after such\ninvestigation that cause exists for crediting the allegations of the\ncomplaint, the council shall promptly so advise the governing body of\nthe hospital against which the complaint was made, and shall direct that\nsuch governing body make a review of the actions of such body in denying\nor withholding staff membership or professional privileges from the\ncomplainant physician, podiatrist, optometrist, dentist or licensed\nmidwife or in excluding or expelling such physician, podiatrist,\noptometrist, dentist or licensed midwife from staff membership or in\ncurtailing, terminating or in any way diminishing such physician's,\npodiatrist's, optometrist's, dentist's or licensed midwife's\nprofessional privileges in the hospital.\n 4. The provisions of this section shall not be deemed to impair or\naffect any other right or remedy.\n