Law BY JOEY BERLIN


Under investigation?


NPDB GUIDEBOOK REVISIONS MAY INCREASE RISK OF DATA BANK REPORTS


I


f you’re about to surrender privileges at a hospital for any reason, and you assume you’re in squeaky-clean standing with the facility simply because they haven’t indicated otherwise — well, you know what they say about people who assume. Now, making such an assumption may be riskier than ever following revi-


sions to the National Practitioner Data Bank’s NPDB Guidebook. A report to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) can, among other things, derail an employment opportunity or licensure application, and privilege surrender while you’re under investigation is generally reportable. Health care attorneys, concerned about language in the new guidebook that they believe broadens the parameters of what NPDB considers an investigation, are warning physicians to protect themselves if they’re stepping away from their facility. When it comes to whether something is reportable to the data bank, physicians are often at the mercy of a hospital’s counsel, says Dallas health care attorney Peter Anderson. “I find it still in practice somewhat hit or miss, and in terms of being on the


side of doctors, I find it another area where we’re a little bit powerless in that it really matters, what does hospital counsel think?” Mr. Anderson said. “Do they think there is something to report? Do they think there’s nothing to report? And I’ve never had a circumstance where they thought there was something reportable and somehow then we talked them out of it. They’re going to do what they’re going to do.” The federal agency that handles NPDB says its definition of an investiga-


tion hasn’t changed, and the latest edition of the guidebook merely “clarifies and codifies existing policies in one place, in writing.” But the language in the guidebook, combined with the lack of any required notice for a physician under investigation, highlights the need for doctors to be extra cautious about surren- dering privileges or even taking a leave of absence.


WHAT CAN BE REPORTED The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Ser- vices Administration (HRSA) oversees the NPDB, the federal government’s elec- tronic database (operational since 1990) for reporting adverse physician activity. Reports to the data bank are confidential and not publicly available, HRSA


notes, but organizations that can access the NPDB reports “use them to make licensing, credentialing, privileging, or employment decisions.” HRSA released the latest revision to the NPDB Guidebook in April 2015, its first update in 14 years. To view the guidebook, visit tma.tips/NPDBGuidebook. Mr. Anderson says the fear of appearing in the data bank sometimes drives physician negotiations with entities where they have privileges or with state


March 2017 TEXAS MEDICINE 49


“I find it another area where we’re a little bit powerless. They’re going to do what they’re going to do.”


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60