Dodging the bullet: avoiding conspiracy claims in professional staff disputes

Hospitals, because of their necessary reliance on medical staff physicians in making staff privilege decisions, are particularly susceptible to claims of conspiracy in restraint of trade in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Physicians and other health care providers denied professional access to hospital facilities frequently initiate federal antitrust lawsuits against hospitals and their medical staffs asserting unlawful conspiracy in restraint of their practice. Regular, consistent, and timely preventive action by a hospital can avoid or limit the hospital's exposure to the expense and uncertainty of extended and cumbersome antitrust litigation.