The Medical Staff Guidebook: Minimizing Risk and Maximizing Collaboration is a new Fourth Edition of the formerly titled Health Care Entity Bylaws and Related Documents. AHLA recommends this new edition of the Guidebook to all in the health care field who need to know how to ensure their medical staff bylaws cover the essential aspects to better serve both the medical staff's needs and those of the health care entity.

Medical staffs and health care entities have historically had a unique relationship of interdependence. While the governing body of the health care entity is ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the entity, it is the medical staff that provides the necessary ingredient for the success, i.e. quality patient care. In recent years, there has been an increase in direct integration between physicians and health care entities, through a number of different relationships. This change, along with increased scrutiny of the industry from regulators and the market place, means that the medical staff/health care entity relationship may become increasingly difficult to manage. At the heart of this balancing act are the medical staff bylaws. Well-drafted bylaws can help create a cohesive working relationship, leading to enhanced patient care. The publication includes discussion of the impact that the increasing number of facilities where health services are provided, and in which organized medical staffs exist, has had.

Coverage includes: