Patrick v. Floyd Medical Center

• Citation: 255 Ga. App. 435,565 S.E.2d 491
• Decision Date: 30 April 2002
• Docket Number: No. A02A1054.,A02A1054.
• Parties: PATRICK v. FLOYD MEDICAL CENTER et al.
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

565 S.E.2d 491

255 Ga. App. 435

PATRICK v. FLOYD MEDICAL CENTER et al.

No. A02A1054.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

April 30, 2002.

Reconsideration Denied May 20, 2002.

Certiorari Denied September 6, 2002.

Robert H. Hishon, James G. Killough, Atlanta, for appellant.

Smith, Shaw & Maddox, David F. Guldenschuh, Rome, for appellees. ELDRIDGE, Judge.

The bylaws of appellee-defendant Floyd Medical Center ("Hospital") conferred authority to govern the Hospital upon appellee-defendant Hospital Authority of Floyd County ("Hospital Authority"). Likewise under the bylaws, the Hospital Authority delegated its governance responsibility to appellee-defendant Floyd HealthCare Management, Inc. ("Floyd Healthcare").

The Hospital's bylaws further established procedures by which any doctor might apply for staff privileges at the Hospital. These required applicant doctors to make application in writing; to provide necessary supporting information; and to participate in a peer review process triggered by the submission of the doctor's application. Peer review required that applicants be appraised by the department in which staff privileges were sought; that such appraisals be reported to the Hospital's Executive Committee; and that the Executive Committee make a further recommendation to Floyd Healthcare in its capacity as the Hospital's governing body. In the event of a recommendation to deny staff privileges, Floyd Healthcare's management agreement with the Hospital required that its Chief Executive Officer give the applicant doctor notice thereof together with notice of the right to a due process hearing before a panel of five physicians as to such proposed action. Finally, the Hospital's bylaws afforded applicants a right of appeal from an adverse decision of the panel to Floyd Healthcare's board of directors.

In May 1995, appellant-plaintiff Ronald D. Patrick, M.D., submitted his written application to practice general surgery at the Hospital. Under Hospital bylaws, Dr. Patrick was granted temporary staff privileges subject to the peer review process. Dr. Patrick submitted to a 100 percent review of his medical charts and case files over a period of approximately six months by the Surgery Quality Assurance Committee ("SQAC") of the Hospital's Department of Surgery.

On May 15, 1996, after conducting an internal chart review of the records of 101 of Dr. Patrick's patients and considering the findings as to seven of the files made by an independent peer review firm assisted by a board-certified surgeon, the Greeley Company, the SQAC voted to recommend that Dr. Patrick's application for staff privileges be denied. The SQAC forwarded its recommendation to the Department of Surgery on May 21, 1996. After voting to accept the SQAC's recommendation, the Department of Surgery transmitted its recommendation to such effect to the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee adopted the recommendation of the Department of Surgery. On July 11, 1996, duly given notice of the adverse action proposed by the Executive Committee, Dr. Patrick requested a due process hearing thereon. Following the hearing, the Hearing Panel concurred in the findings of the Executive Committee and further recommended that Dr. Patrick's application for staff privileges be denied. On this, Dr. Patrick sought appellate review of the Hearing Panel's decision before Floyd Healthcare's board of directors.

Upon the board's denial of his application for staff membership, Dr. Patrick filed suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Finding Dr. Patrick's complaint failed to state a cause of action for relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the district court granted summary judgment to the Hospital, declined to exercise its supplemental jurisdiction over Dr. Patrick's state action claims, and dismissed them without prejudice. Thereafter, Dr. Patrick sued the Hospital in the Superior Court of Floyd County seeking damages, punitive damages, and bad faith litigation costs under OCGA § 13-6-11, alleging violations of OCGA § 31-7-7,¹ the Hospital's bylaws, and the Health Care Quality Improvement Act (the "Act"), 42 U.S.C. § 11101 et seq. (Count 1); tortious interference with business relationships (Count 2); defamation (Count 3); violations of the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act (Count 4); and intentional infliction of emotional distress (Count 5). This appeal follows the superior court's grant of partial summary judgment for the Hospital as to Counts 1 and 2 upon the finding that the Hospital was entitled to immunity under the Act and Georgia law. See 42 U.S.C. § 11111(a)(1); OCGA § 31-7-132.

Dr. Patrick appeals, contending that the grant of summary judgment was error: (1) as based upon the ten volume transcript of the proceedings before the Hearing Panel, a transcript filed "[w]ithout affidavit or other authentication" and containing inadmissible evidence; (2) as shielding the Hospital from the equitable claims of Count 1 of his complaint under the Act, a statute limited to providing immunity from monetary damages; (3) as predicated upon the finding that the peer review process in issue met the prerequisites for immunity under the Act and OCGA §§ 31-7-132 and 31-7-141. Finding Dr. Patrick's claims of error to be without merit, we affirm. Held:

1. A certified copy of a court transcript is one of the items a trial court is authorized to examine on motion for summary judgment to determine if there exists a genuine issue of material fact to be tried. Abalene Pest Control Svc., v. Orkin Exterminating Co., 196 Ga.App. 463, 465(3), 395 S.E.2d 867 (1990). There is no reason why it should be otherwise as to other legal proceedings where, as here, there is a certified legal transcript.

While evidence on motion for summary judgement may typically be by affidavit, that is not the exclusive method for presenting sworn testimony. Nor is the accessibility of a witness to testify ... a concern on motion for summary judgment where by statute none of the evidence needs to be established by live testimony. See OCGA § 9-11-56(c), (e), (f).

(Citation omitted.) Id. at 466(3), 395 S.E.2d 867. Moreover, even should such transcript include inadmissible evidence as Dr. Patrick argues, the presumption of regularity requires that we assume trial court rulings to be supported by competent evidence of record, absent evidence to the contrary. Mullins v. Columbia County, 202 Ga.App. 148, 150, 413 S.E.2d 489 (1991). Dr. Patrick points to no consideration of such evidence. We find none. Quite to the contrary, by its order granting the Hospital partial summary judgment, the superior court noted the applicability of the rules of evidence on summary judgment, see Wheat v. Montgomery, 130 Ga.App. 202, 204(5), 202 S.E.2d 664 (1973) (rules as to admissibility of evidence applicable on motion for summary judgment), expressly stating that it did not consider certain of the affidavits submitted in opposition to summary judgment insofar as these contained hearsay and conclusory statements indicating bias motivating the peer review process. Under these circumstances, we conclude that this claim of error is without merit.

2. Dr. Patrick correctly argues that the immunity afforded by the Act is limited to monetary damages and does not extend to equitable relief, Chalal v. Northwest Med. Center, 147 F.Supp.2d 1160, 1184 (VIII) (N.D.Ala.2000); Imperial v. Suburban Hosp. Assn., 37 F.3d 1026, 1031 (4th Cir. 1994); Manion v. Evans, 986 F.2d 1036, 1040-1041 (6th Cir.) (1993); Decker v. IHC Hosps., Inc., 982 F.2d 433, 436 (10th Cir. 1992), cert. denied, IHC Hosps. v. Decker, 509 U.S. 924, 113 S.Ct. 3041, 125 L.Ed.2d 727 (1993). However, although Count 1 of Dr. Patrick's complaint, in effect, seeks injunctive relief in the nature of reinstatement of staff privileges, nothing of record shows that he moved the superior court for an injunction or otherwise pursued injunctive relief as surviving his claim for monetary damages. Under these circumstances, to the extent that Count 1 sought equitable relief in the nature of an injunction requiring the reinstatement of Dr. Patrick's staff privileges, it was abandoned. Id.; Imperial v. Suburban Hosp. Assn., supra at 1031. While the superior court granted the Hospital summary judgment as to Count 1 of Dr. Patrick's complaint upon immunity afforded by the Act alone, "[a] grant of summary judgment must be affirmed if it is right for any reason." (Citation and punctuation omitted.) Costrini v. Hansen Architects, 247 Ga.App. 136, 138(1), 543 S.E.2d 760 (2000). Accordingly, we conclude this claim of error to be without merit.

3. By his third and fourth enumerations of error, Dr. Patrick contends that the superior court erred in granting the Hospital summary judgment in that jury questions exist as to the Hospital's entitlement to immunity in the peer review process under 42 U.S.C. § 11112(a)(1) through (4) of the Act and OCGA §§ 31-7-132 and 31-7-141. We disagree.

(a) Hospital immunity under the Act. To ensure meaningful compliance with the professional review system established by the Act, ² "Congress found it essential to provide qualified immunity from damages actions for hospitals, doctors, and others who participate [therein]. See 42 U.S.C. § 11101; H.R. Rep. 903, at 6385." Imperial v. Suburban Hosp. Assn., supra at 1028(I). As relevant, entitlement to immunity under the Act is conditioned as follows:

For purposes of the protection set forth in [42 U.S.C. § 11111(a)],³ a professional review action must be taken—(1) in the reasonable belief that the action was in the furtherance of quality health care, (2) after a reasonable effort to obtain the facts of the matter, (3) after adequate notice and hearing procedures are afforded to the physician involved or after such other procedures as are fair to the physician under the circumstances, and (4) in the reasonable belief that the action was warranted by the facts

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