The EEOC and Late Career Practitioner Screening Policies- Does Screening Older Clinicians Violate Age and Disability Discrimination Laws? (On-Demand Webinar)

Date: 11/02/23
Time: On-Demand

Closed captions are available.

Overview: In this webinar, the panelists discuss the issue of whether physician/practitioner age impacts delivery of patient care which has been studied for decades. Many hospitals and their medical staffs have adopted policies which require that applicants for appointment and reappointment to the medical staff undergo medical examinations to screen physicians, beginning at certain ages, ranging from 60-75, for neurocognitive and other impairments. In 2016, Yale-New Haven Hospital adopted and began implementing its Late Career Practitioner (LCP) Screening Policy which requires all applicants for medical staff membership and privileges over the age of 70 to undergo an evaluation for neurocognitive, vision and other forms of impairment. In response to practitioner complaints regarding hospital policies, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission initiated investigations into the age-based screening policies at multiple hospitals and health systems. In 2020, the EEOC filed an action in the US District Court in Connecticut alleging that the Yale-New Haven Hospital LCP policy violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The litigation is ongoing and raises profound questions for the many hospitals and medical staffs that have adopted LCP Policies as part of their legally mandated quality oversight function and the physicians that practice at those institutions.

Learning Objectives: 

  • Attendees will gain an understanding of the rights and obligations of physicians, hospitals, and medical staff when dealing with issues regarding asserted impairments, quality oversight, and older physician workforces. 
  • Attendees will gain an understanding of the intersection of traditional employment law principles and the application of age and disability discrimination laws in the healthcare industry.
  • Attendees will gain an understanding of the implications of the EEOC litigation on health systems, hospitals, medical groups and other healthcare entities.


See related book: The Complete Medical Staff, Peer Review, and Hearing Guidebook (https://store.lexisnexis.com/ahla/categories/american-health-lawyers-association/area-of-practice-153/the-complete-medical-staff-peer-review-and-hearing-guidebook-ahla-members-skuusSKU5627903M)

Speaker Information:

Amy Shulman, Esq., PartnerOutten & Golden

Richard D. Barton, Esq., Of Counsel, Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP


Continuing Education:

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AHLA is seeking CPE credits for live and on demand webinars. The maximum number of credits available is 1.80.