TUCSON, Ariz., Dec. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Those who conduct sham peer reviews of physicians at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) are often emboldened by the false belief that they have absolute immunity under the Federal Tort Claims Act FTCA for all claims filed against them, including claims for fraud, writes Lawrence Huntoon, M.D., Ph.D., in the winter issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons.
While FQHCs are not required to have a formal written peer review process for certification, they must have one to qualify as a reporting entity to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). Failure to have such a process may also violate state law, Dr. Huntoon notes.
The benefits of being a FQHC include medical malpractice liability coverage under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). One of the benefits of being employed by a FQHC is that physicians do not have to purchase their own malpractice liability insurance, Dr. Huntoon explains. However, FQHCs face persistent funding gaps, which likely explain the intense pressure FQHCs often put on physicians to see large numbers of patients per day. Physicians may be subjected to sham peer review without any due process rights, and an employment termination may result in a career-ending report to the NPDB.
Employment terminations without a formal process are not reportable, Dr. Huntoon writes, and FQHCs that knowingly and willfully report such information to the NPDB, stating that it does come through a proper peer-review process, need to be held accountable for violating 18 U.S.C. § 1001.
Physicians victimized by such a process should make their attorneys aware of the relevant laws and rules that are summarized in this article.
The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons is published by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), a national organization representing physicians in all specialties since 1943.
Contact: Jane M. Orient, M.D., (520) 323-3110, janeorientmd@gmail.com
