Synergy - March/April 2014 - 11

industry feature

NAMSS CE QUIZ: Questions for "The Aging Physician:
Balancing Safety, Respect, and Compliance"
See worksheet on page 30.
1. Employed physicians who are
members of the medical staff
have dual accountabilities
through the medical staff bylaws
and their employment contracts.
a. True
b. False
2. The best approach to managing
potential impairment due to
aging is to set, in advance, an
age by which medical staff
members must submit to
annual physician examinations.
a. True
b. False
3. A "fitness for work" exam may
be performed by any competent
internist or family physician.
a. True
b. False
4. When an employed physician
has a potential performance
issue, dealing with it via the
employment agreement may
yield a faster result, but less
insulation, against subsequent
legal action than if the peer
review process is applied.
a. True
b. False

care of more clinically stable patients during
daytime hours. This enables physicians to
continue to practice in a more sustainable
way that is also safer for patients.
There are, however, a small number of
physicians who either cannot perceive
their declining performance or who are
unwilling to make necessary changes to
their practices. In such cases, the healthcare

5. Courts may extend the
applications of employment laws
(such as the ADA, ADEA, etc.)
to independent physicians.
a. True
b. False
6. It is necessary to apply the Age
Discrimination in Employment
Act (ADEA) and the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) to
self-employed physicians.
a. True
b. False
7. When an employed physician
claims to have a disability
under the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA), the
organization must provide a
"reasonable accommodation."
a. True
b. False
8. Healthcare organizations may
be able to require "fitness for
work" evaluations if it can be
determined that a medical staff
age-related requirement is a
bona fide occupational
qualification (BFOQ).
a. True
b. False

organization must create a credible approach
that balances the dignity and rights of the
physician with the need to protect patients
from potential harm. Unfortunately, many
organizations wait for an adverse event to
take formal action. That process may trigger
procedural rights under the Healthcare
Quality Improvement Act (HCQIA) if the
medical staff: (1) initiates a formal peer

9. If a medical staff pays for an
independent physician to
obtain a fitness for work
assessment, that arrangement
must meet a Stark exception.
a. True
b. False
10. There is a clear difference
as to how courts treat
employed and self-employed
physicians regarding potential
impairments, aging, and
performance management
issues.
a. True
b. False

Take this quiz online
and receive your results
immediately!
Click the SYNERGY Quizzes
link in the Headlines section of
www.namss.org.

review investigation; or (2) is forced to
involuntarily restrict the physician's privileges.
While the fair hearing process is an
appropriate response to many quality
concerns, it is not the ideal first option
when dealing with aging practitioners. For
example, one approach is to pick an age
(typically 70) when the medical staff should
Continued on page 12

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