Rhode Island § 23-17-53 - Licensing of Healthcare Facilities

§ 23-17-53. Physician contracts.

(a) A hospital, by contract or otherwise, may not refuse or fail to grant or renew medical staff membership or staff privileges, or condition or otherwise limit or restrict medical staff membership or staff privileges, based in whole or in part on the fact that the physician or a partner, associate, or employee of the physician is providing medical or healthcare services at a different hospital, hospital system, or on behalf of a health plan. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, a hospital may condition or otherwise limit or restrict staff privileges for reasons related to the availability of limited resources as determined in advance by the hospital’s governing body. Nor shall a hospital by contract, or otherwise, limit a physician’s participation or staff privileges or the participation or staff privileges of a partner, associate, or employee of the physician at a different hospital, hospital system, or health plan.

(b) This section does not prevent a hospital from entering into contracts with physicians to ensure physician availability and coverage at the hospital or to comply with regulatory requirements or quality of care standards established by the governing body of the hospital, if contracts, requirements or standards do not require that a physician join, participate in, or contract with a physician-hospital organization or similar organization as a condition of the grant or continuation of medical staff membership or staff privileges at the hospital.

(c) This section does not prevent the governing body of a hospital from limiting the number of physicians granted medical staff membership or privileges at the hospital based on a medical staff development plan that is unrelated to a physician or a partner, associate, or employee of a physician having medical staff membership or privileges at another hospital or hospital system.

(d) A contract provision that violates this section shall be void and of no force and effect.

(e) Hospitals shall allow patients of their medical staff to be evaluated and educated by the various appropriate departments of the hospital upon referral by their treating physician, regardless of the physician affiliation, as long as the physician has unrestricted privileges in their field of practice.

(f) A hospital may not take any adverse action, including, but not limited to, refusing or failing to grant or renew medical staff membership or staff privileges, or condition or otherwise limit or restrict medical staff membership or staff privileges, based on a result of an adverse action against a healthcare provider’s license or clinical privileges or other disciplinary action by another state or healthcare institution that resulted from the healthcare provider’s engagement in legally protected healthcare activity, as defined in § 23-101-2, or aiding and assisting with legally protected healthcare activity, as defined in § 23-101-2, if the adverse action was based solely on a violation of the other state’s law prohibiting such legally protected healthcare activity and related services, if that legally protected healthcare activity is consistent with the applicable professional standard of care and/or did not violate Rhode Island law.