Advise
"Dear Risk Manager..."
Dear Licensed Risk Manager,
What is the status of Amendment #7 and the protection of previously confidential Risk Management documents or reports?
Signed, administrator
Dear Administrator,
Tallahassee - A Pasco County Hospital lost the first round in a court fight over whether it should be forced to disclose records detailing the suspensions of nine doctors at Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point.
Leon County Circuit Judge Janet Ferris denied the hospital's bid for an injunction that would keep the records secret. The St. Petersburg Times sought the records last month, citing a state constitutional amendment voters approved in November that opens reports of adverse medical incidents for the first time.
Attorneys for the hospital, its owner, Hospital Corporation of America, and the Florida Hospital Association said releasing the records would violate federal privacy laws and that the wording of Amendment 7 is vague. They said the Legislature must first implement it before any records can be opened.
The judge's ruling does not mean the records must be released. That issue will be resolved in later legal arguments.
The physicians are subjects of an internal investigation and peer review and have not been publicly identified.
Benedict and Associates, Inc. - The Risk Management Professionals