TUCSON, Ariz., March 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The latest addition to the hospital sham peer review playbook for removing undesired physicians is the leave-of-absence trap, writes Lawrence R. Huntoon, M.D, Ph.D., in the spring issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. The technique depends heavily on coercion and deception.
Typically, a targeted physician meets with hospital leadership behind closed doors and is told he must either “voluntarily” take a leave of absence while the hospital conducts an investigation to determine whether any further action is needed or he will be subject to an immediate summary suspension. The physician is often led to believe that the leave of absence will not result in a highly damaging report in the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), Dr. Huntoon states.
However, since a leave of absence virtually always means that a physician agrees not to exercise privileges, it is treated as a resignation while under investigation, which is immediately reportable, Dr. Huntoon cautions.
He notes that hospitals may use this tactic when they fear that the physician might be exonerated in an honest peer-review procedure. If the physicians’ privileges are not reinstated upon return from leave, there is no more due process.
As an alternative, Dr. Huntoon suggests that the physician might simply take a vacation. “The physician’s attorney should seek to negotiate this alternative, while making sure that there is no agreement not to exercise privileges during vacation.”
He adds: “A vacation would also give the physician time to gather together resources, materials, documents, and expert opinions; set up a ‘war room’ in his home; and discuss strategy with his attorney to prepare for the fight of his life.”
In correspondence with the NPDB, Dr. Huntoon confirmed that if a vacation does not restrict privileges, it is not reportable.
He concludes that “the physician’s attorney needs to be involved early on and needs to be aggressive in advocating for an alternative that will not irreparably harm his client…. Due process and fundamental fairness require that a physician not be punished prior to a…fair hearing and appeals.”
The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons is published by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), a national organization representing physicians in all specialties since 1943.
Contact: Jane M. Orient, M.D., (520) 323-3110, janeorientmd@gmail.com
