Section 6 .
Pre-Hearing and Hearing Procedure
6.1 Provision of Relevant Information
6.1.1 There is no right to formal “ discovery ” in connection with the hearing . The presiding officer , hearing panel chair , or hearing officer shall rule on any dispute regarding discoverability and may impose any safeguards , including denial or limitation of discovery to protect the peer review process and ensure a reasonable and fair hearing . In general , the individual requesting the hearing shall be entitled , upon specific request , to the following , subject to a stipulation signed by both parties , the individual ’ s counsel and any experts that such documents shall be maintained as confidential consistent with all applicable state and federal peer review and privacy statutes and shall not be disclosed or used for any purpose outside of the hearing :
a . Copies of , or reasonable access to , all patient medical records referred to in the Statement of Reasons , at his or her expense ;
b . Reports of experts relied upon by the MEC ; c . Copies of redacted relevant committee minutes ; d . Copies of any other documents relied upon by the MEC or the Board ;
e . No information regarding other practitioners shall be requested , provided , or considered ; and f .
Evidence unrelated to the reasons for the recommendation or to the individual ’ s qualifications for appointment or the relevant clinical privileges shall be excluded .
6.1.2 Prior to the hearing , on dates set by the presiding officer or agreed upon by counsel for both sides , each party shall provide the other party with all proposed exhibits . All objections to documents or witnesses to the extent then reasonably known shall be submitted in writing prior to the hearing . The presiding officer shall not entertain subsequent objections unless the party offering the objection demonstrates good cause .
6.1.3 There shall be no contact by the individual who is the subject of the hearing with those individuals appearing on the hospital ’ s witness list concerning the subject matter of the hearing ; nor shall there be contact by the hospital with individuals appearing on the affected individual ’ s witness list concerning the subject matter of the hearing , unless specifically agreed upon by that individual or his / her counsel .
6.2 Pre-Hearing Conference
The presiding officer may require a representative for the individual and for the MEC ( or the Board ) to participate in a pre-hearing conference . At the pre-hearing conference , the presiding officer shall resolve all procedural questions , including any objections to exhibits or witnesses , and determine the time to be allotted to each witness ’ s testimony and cross-examination . The appropriate role of attorneys will be decided at the pre-hearing conference .
6.3 Failure to Appear
Failure , without good cause , of the individual requesting the hearing to appear and proceed at such a hearing shall be deemed to constitute a waiver of all hearing and appeal rights and a voluntary acceptance of the recommendations or actions pending , which shall then be forwarded to the Board for final action . Good cause for failure to appear will be determined by the presiding officer , chair of the hearing panel , or hearing officer .
MEDICAL STAFF Investigations , Corrective Action , Hearing and Appeal Plan
Page 13