The doctrine of corporate responsibility holds hospitals accountable for the negligent acts of health practitioners working in the hospital. Hospitals have a duty to provide quality medical care, which includes selecting competent physicians, overseeing all medical staff, enforcing rules to ensure patient safety, and reasonably supervising treatment provided to patients. This doctrine emerged as the structure of hospitals changed, with medical staff requiring oversight from the hospital to monitor competence and performance in the hospital's delivery of quality care.
The doctrine of corporate responsibility holds hospitals accountable for the negligent acts of health practitioners working in the hospital. Hospitals have a duty to provide quality medical care, which includes selecting competent physicians, overseeing all medical staff, enforcing rules to ensure patient safety, and reasonably supervising treatment provided to patients. This doctrine emerged as the structure of hospitals changed, with medical staff requiring oversight from the hospital to monitor competence and performance in the hospital's delivery of quality care.
The doctrine of corporate responsibility holds hospitals accountable for the negligent acts of health practitioners working in the hospital. Hospitals have a duty to provide quality medical care, which includes selecting competent physicians, overseeing all medical staff, enforcing rules to ensure patient safety, and reasonably supervising treatment provided to patients. This doctrine emerged as the structure of hospitals changed, with medical staff requiring oversight from the hospital to monitor competence and performance in the hospital's delivery of quality care.
*doctrine of corporate negligence as the judicial answer to the problem of
allocating hospitals liability for the negligent acts of health practitioners, absent facts to support the application of respondeat superior or apparent authority. *the duty of providing quality medical service is no longer the sole prerogative and responsibility of the physician. The modern hospitals have changed structure. Hospitals now tend to organize a highly professional medical staff whose competence and performance need to be monitored by the hospitals commensurate with their inherent responsibility to provide quality medical care. *hospital is negligent if failing to have a sufficient number of trained nurses attending the patient; failing to require a consultation with or examination by members of the hospital staff; and failing to review the treatment rendered to the patient. *a hospitals corporate negligence extends to permitting a physician known to be incompetent to practice at the hospital. *With the passage of time, more duties were expected from hospitals, among them: (1) the use of reasonable care in the maintenance of safe and adequate facilities and equipment; (2) the selection and retention of competent physicians; (3) the overseeing or supervision of all persons who practice medicine within its walls; and (4) the formulation, adoption and enforcement of adequate rules and policies that ensure quality care for its patients. * a hospital has the duty to see that it meets the standards of responsibilities for the care of patients. Such duty includes the proper supervision of the members of its medical staff. A patient who enters a hospital does so with the reasonable expectation that it will attempt to cure him. The hospital accordingly has the duty to make a reasonable effort to monitor and oversee the treatment prescribed and administered by the physicians practicing in its premises. * A hospital has the duty to exercise reasonable care to protect from harm all patients admitted into its facility for medical treatment. *Under the doctrine of corporate responsibility, the duty of providing quality medical service is no longer the sole prerogative and
responsibility of the physician. This is because the modern hospital now
tends to organize a highly-professional medical staf whose competence and performance need also to be monitored by the hospital commensurate with its inherent responsibility to provide quality medical care. Such responsibility includes the proper supervision of the members of its medical staf. Accordingly, the hospital has the duty to make a reasonable efort to monitor and oversee the treatment prescribed and administered by the physicians practicing in its premises.