Medical Staff of Sharp Memorial Hospital v. Superior Court

In this original proceeding the trial court found the Medical Staff of Sharp Memorial Hospital et al. (the medical staff) acted improperly when it summarily suspended the staff privileges of Penny Pancoast, a medical doctor. Accordingly, the trial court ordered Dr. Pancoast’s suspension be rescinded.

We grant the medical staff’s petition for a writ of mandate and direct the trial court to vacate its order.

There is no dispute among the parties Dr. Pancoast was in no condition to admit patients at the time of her suspension. Indeed, by way of her response to the petition Dr. Pancoast concedes her disability. The record also shows that in the absence of her suspension, Dr. Pancoast planned to begin admitting patients to Sharp Memorial Hospital (Sharp). Under these circumstances, Business and Professions Code section 809.5, as well as the medical staff’s bylaws, permitted the medical staff to summarily suspend Dr. Pancoast’s admission privileges, subject to her right to a postsuspension hearing.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

A. Dr. Pancoast

Dr. Pancoast is a duly licensed physician with an internal medicine practice. She obtained medical staff privileges at Sharp in 1991 and was…