Hospital and health plan liability in granting privileges for endoscopy

In December 1992, the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) published a legal opinion which had been developed by the nationally renowned litigation law firm, Williams & Connolly, which has long served as ACG's litigation counsel. The opinion set forth potential litigation liabilities/risks that hospitals incur if they are negligent in their credentialing practices and enable undertrained physicians to perform endoscopy in their inpatient and outpatient facilities. The opinion was published as part of a broader joint effort by ACG and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) that resulted in ASGE's Guidelines on Appropriate Training for GI Endoscopy together with the legal opinion on undertrained endoscopists being circulated to all of America's hospitals. Much has changed in both the practice of medicine and the law, since 1992. The two societies decided to join forces again to update these materials. The ACG legal opinion was expanded to also provide guidance about liability of insurance plans when they indicate preferences as to where and by whom procedures should be performed. Some of the key findings from the liability update section of this joint effort follow.