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HR 3413119th CongressIn Committee
Physician and Patient Safety Act
Introduced: May 14, 2025
Civil Rights & JusticeHealthcare
Standard Summary
Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs
The Physician and Patient Safety Act would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue final regulations guaranteeing due process rights for physicians who have hospital medical staff privileges before any termination, restriction, or reduction of their professional activity or staff privileges. The regulations must ensure that hearings or appellate reviews cannot be outsourced to avoid due process, cannot be waived as a condition of employment, and must remain confidential—not reportable to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) or future employers unless there is an ongoing threat to patient safety or as required by NPDB reporting rules. The regulations would take effect within 18 months of enactment.
Key Points
- 1The Secretary must issue final regulations to give physicians with hospital medical staff privileges a fair hearing and appellate review before any action that reduces or ends their professional activity or privileges.
- 2Hearings or reviews may not be denied or bypassed through third-party contracts, protecting the integrity of the process.
- 3Physicians cannot be forced to waive their rights to a hearing or appeal as a condition of employment with the hospital or third-party contractors.
- 4The process and hearings must be confidential and not reportable to the NPDB or future workplaces unless there is an ongoing threat to patient safety or as required by NPDB reporting rules.
- 5The final regulations must become effective within 18 months after the bill’s enactment.
Impact Areas
Primary: Physicians who hold hospital medical staff privileges; hospitals and medical staff organizations that manage privileging and disciplinary processes.Secondary: National Practitioner Data Bank reporting practices and potential effects on how discipline or actions against physicians are documented and shared; future employers evaluating physician credentials.Additional impacts: Hospital administration and risk management practices may face new requirements, potentially affecting timelines for action, appeals processes, and confidentiality norms; potential effects on patient safety by ensuring due process in privileging decisions.
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