Late News: Judge rules against economic credentialing policy in Arkansas

In a victory for physician-owned hospitals, a state court in Arkansas ordered an injunction against an economic credentialing policy adopted by five-hospital Baptist Health denying privileges to physicians who hold an ownership interest in competing hospitals. The decision contrasts with a federal judge’s September 2008 decision to dismiss an antitrust complaint involving the same spat, with Little Rock Cardiology Clinic physicians arguing Baptist Health acted illegally to squeeze their facility, Arkansas Heart Hospital, Little Rock (Sept. 15, 2008, p. 6). “The heart of this case is the patient-physician relationship,” Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Collins Kilgore wrote in the 41-page opinion. “The relationship is entitled to exceptional protection.” The American Medical Association and Arkansas Medical Society joined the case on behalf of the physicians. Kilgore concluded that Baptist Health suffered no harm from the opening of Arkansas Heart Hospital. The system issued a prepared statement saying it would “study the decision to determine its response” and also defended its policy. “Baptist Health believes that the board’s decision to protect the community’s long-term access to a broad range of services was a correct and responsible one.”