CLIFTON L. DANCE, JR., M.D., APPELLANT,
v.
NORTH BROWARD HOSPITAL DISTRICT D/B/A BROWARD GENERAL MEDICAL CENTER, APPELLEE
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Dr. Dance appeals his permanent suspension from the medical staff of Broward General Medical Center after he was caught replacing potent painkillers with saline solution, recording false injections in patient records, and deceiving patients about their treatment. The Florida appellate court affirmed the suspension, holding that courts should defer to hospital governing bodies' medical expertise in such disciplinary proceedings absent procedural unfairness or arbitrary application of standards.
The court affirmed the permanent suspension, concluding that adequate evidence supported the suspension and that judicial intervention is only appropriate when hospital suspension procedures are unfair or when standards are unreasonable or applied arbitrarily or capiciously, which was not demonstrated here.
[1] A hospital may summarily suspend a physician's privileges based on observed misconduct involving patient care.
[2] A physician's privilege to practice in specific hospitals may be suspended through administrative hearings, distinct from license revocation or criminal proceedings.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Dr. Dance was observed replacing syringes containing sublimaze (a potent pain killer) with syringes containing a saline solution and then injecting the saline solution into patients. Dance recorded sublimaze injections on the patients' records. No one, including the patients, was advised of these procedures.”
Establishes the factual basis for the suspension—fraud and deception in patient treatment
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDr. Dance was observed replacing syringes containing sublimaze (a potent pain killer) with saline solution and injecting the saline into patients whil…
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BERANEK, Judge.
Clifton L. Dance, a physician, appeals his permanent suspension from the medical staff of Broward General Medical Center, and from practicing in any of the three hospitals operated by the North Broward Hospital District. Dr. Dance was summarily suspended by the Chief of Surgery and the Hospital Administrator of the Broward General Medical Center. His suspension was made permanent after three full administrative hearings. Dr. Dance was observed replacing syringes containing subli-maze (a potent pain killer) with syringes containing a saline solution and then injecting the saline solution into patients. Dance recorded sublimaze injections on the patients’ records. No one, including the patients, was advised of these procedures. Dr. Dance admitted the syringe switching procedure and eventually gave at least two somewhat inconsistent explanations for his conduct.
After his initial temporary suspension a probable cause hearing occurred before the Medical Council, which is the executive committee of the hospital medical staff. Thereafter, a full evidentiary hearing occurred before the District Membership Committee, which is also composed of physicians. Thereafter, a further full evidentiary hearing occurred before the Board of Commissioners of the Hospital District, which is the governing body of the District. The Board of Commissioners is a lay board.
Appellant raises numerous points, all of which we find to be without merit. This was a proceeding whereby Dr. Dance’s privilege of practicing medicine in the particular hospitals of the District was suspended. It is not a license revocation proceeding nor is it criminal in nature. Further, the parties have agreed the case is not governed by Florida’s Administrative Procedure Act.1
We conclude that there was adequate evidence upon which to base permanent suspension. The physicians composing the various administrative bodies below are clearly possessed of great medical expertise and also had the obligation of securing the quality of patient care within the hospitals of the District in accordance with the bylaws of the District. This Court will afford great deference to such expert governing bodies. Judicial intervention is only necessary or appropriate when suspension procedures are unfair or when the standards set by the hospital are unreasonable or applied arbitrarily or capriciously. There has been no such demonstration herein, and the order appealed from is affirmed. See Citta v. Delaware Valley Hospital, 313 F.Supp. 301 (E.D.Pa.1970); Laje v. R. E. Thomason General Hospital, 564 F. 2d 1159 (5th Cir. 1978).
AFFIRMED.
DOWNEY and HURLEY, JJ., concur. . In view of this agreement we expressly refrain from any consideration of the Administrative Procedure Act and from any decision on its application herein.
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Herbert Pardell, D.O. v. Humana Med. Plan, Inc., 560 So. 2d 1249 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)…So. 2d 1, 3-4 (Fla.1962). “Judicial intervention is only necessary or appropriate when ... procedures are unfair or when the standards set by the hospital are unreasonable or applied arbitrarily or capriciously.” Dance v. North Broward Hosp. Dist., 420 So. 2d 315, 316 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982). The trial court thus correctly declined to delve into the merits of Humana’s rejection of Dr. Par-dell’s application. Moreover, the trial court did not err in finding that the process afforded Dr. Pardell was adequate and r…
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Pierson v. Orlando Reg'l Healthcare Sys., Inc., 619 F. Supp. 2d 1260 (M.D. Fla. 2009)…, 148 So.2d 1 (Fla.1962), a hospital appealed a decree declaring a Florida statute that created a hospital district to be unconstitutional; it has no application here. It is difficult to discern how Dance v. North Broward Hospital District, 420 So.2d 315 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982), arrived at the appellate court; it is described as an appeal of a physician’s permanent suspension from the medical staff as a hospital, and the Fourth District Court of Appeal concluded “that there was adequate evidence upon wh…
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Bolt v. Halifax Hosp. Med. Ctr., 851 F.2d 1273 (11th Cir. 1988)…e cause of action for injunctive relief against the hospital.15 Courts have, for instance, frequently reviewed staff privileges decisions to ascertain whether they were reached by way of fair procedures. See, e.g., Dance v. North Broward Hosp. Dish, 420 So. 2d 315 (Fla. Dist.Ct.App.1982). They have also reviewed the criteria used in reaching the decisions to determine whether those criteria are consistent with state policy. See, e.g., Sarasota County Public Hosp. Bd. v. Shahawy, 408 So. 2d 644 (Fla.Dist.Ct.Ap…
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- Laje v. R. E. Thomason Gen. Hosp., 564 F.2d 1159 (5th Cir. 1977)