Najibi

BACKGROUND

I. Peer review process and privileges

“Hospitals in this state have a dual structure, consisting of an administrative governing body, which oversees the operations of the hospital, and a medical staff, which provides medical services and is generally responsible for ensuring that its members provide adequate medical care to patients at the hospital. In order to practice at a hospital, a physician must be granted staff privileges.” (El-Attar v. Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center (2013) 56 Cal.4th 976, 983 (El- Attar).) The medical staff of a hospital “must adopt written bylaws ‘which provide formal procedures for the evaluation of staff applications and credentials, appointments, reappointments, assignment of clinical privileges, appeals mechanisms and such other subjects or conditions which the medical staff and governing body deem appropriate.’ ” (Mileikowsky v. West Hills Hospital & Medical Center (2009) 45 Cal.4th 1259, 1267 (Mileikowsky).)

2 Hospital peer review is the process through which decisions concerning medical staff membership and privileges are made. (Mileikowsky, supra, 45 Cal.4th at p. 1267.) The primary purpose of peer review is to protect…