Utah Approves Bill on Negligent Credentialing

Both the Utah House and Senate have approved a bill that bars negligent credentialing as a cause of action in medical malpractice suits.

SB 150 reverses a May 2010 Utah Supreme Court decision which allows plaintiffs to include hospitals in malpractice suits on the grounds that the hospital should not have given credentials to a practitioner with a past history of questionable actions. The majority of states still recognize negligent credentialing as a cause of action in malpractice suits.

History of the bill can be found here:
http://le.utah.gov/~2011/htmdoc/sbillhtm/sb0150.htm

An overview of arguments for and against the bill can be found here (Salt Lake City News):
http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/article-13298-sb150-could-let-hospitals-off-the-hook-for-hiring-bad-docs.html