Hospital Wins Dispute|Against Physician

(CN) - A hospital properly revoked a physician's staff privilege based on allegations that he had sexually abused his adopted daughter, the 4th Circuit ruled.

Dr. Blake Moore sued Williamsburg Regional Hospital in Kingstree, S.C. He alleged due process violations after his lost his privileges at the hospital.

Moore and his wife had their three children removed from their home after allegations that the wife had abused the children. While in protected custody, Moore's daughter claimed that her parents had sexually abused her. Moore's suspension followed.

Judge Wilkinson of the Richmond, Va.-based federal appeals court upheld the district court's decision in favor of the hospital.

"While the scope of immunity under the Health Care Quality Improvement Act certainly has limits," the judge wrote, "we think the immunity attaches to the defendants under the circumstances.

"A physician's competence can be implicated by conduct outside a health care facility," Wilkinson added, "if there is a clear nexus between that conduct and the ability to render patient care."

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