Excela, based about 30 miles outside of Pittsburgh, sent the memo as part of an email outlining the system’s medical staff development plan. Many physicians are not pleased with the directive, and some legal experts have said it could draw scrutiny, according to the report.
The memo, which a system spokesperson said is confidential, says staff privileges require a “willingness to work in a collaborative manner and support the mission, vision and values” of Excela. This means avoiding “potential conflicts of interest,” such as financial ties to University of Pittsburgh Medical Center or Highmark-affiliated groups unless those relationships are negotiated by Excela, according to the report.
The document also said a physician’s financial ties to competing ambulatory surgery centers qualify as a conflict of interest.
Gaspere Geraci, MD, vice president of quality and value for the Pennsylvania Medical Society, said hospitals often have unwritten conflict of interest policies. “What makes this instance stand out is because it was written down, and it was formally adopted,” he said in the report.
Michael Cassidy, JD, chairman of Pittsburgh-based Tucker Arsenberg’s healthcare practice group, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette the memo raises questions about “economic credentialing,” or making decisions about staff privilege eligibility based on economic reasons rather than the physician’s professional qualifications.
There is no federal law or legal precedent prohibiting such a policy, but a 2009 Arkansas circuit court did rule against a hospital for its “economic conflict of interest policy,” Mr. Cassidy said in the report.
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