Medical Justice provides free consultations to doctors facing medico-legal obstacles. We have solutions for doctor-patient conflicts, unwarranted demands for refunds, online defamation (patient review mischief), meritless litigation, and a gazillion other issues. We also provide counsel specific to COVID-19. If you are navigating a medico-legal obstacle, visit our booking page to schedule a free consultation – or use the tool shared below.

In a poll by the American Medical Association, over 96% of physicians who responded reported being fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Of those currently unvaccinated, 45% reported they planned to get vaccinated.

Methodist Hospital, a flagship healthcare system in Houston, reported 97% of the system’s 26,000 employees were vaccinated. Methodist mandated vaccines as a condition of employment. 153 workers refused and they no longer work there.

In May of 2021, the federal Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) concluded that employers may mandate COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of continued employment. With a nod to provisions including the federal Americans With Disabilities Act, it included the usual caveat…as long as such employees are given reasonable accommodations for any known disability. From Ogletree and Deakins, a high-powered employment law firm:

The EEOC continues to advise that employers may mandate that employees be vaccinated for COVID-19, subject to reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities or a sincerely held religious belief that precludes them from being vaccinated. The updated guidance, however, cautions employers that they may need to consider the disparate impact that mandatory vaccination policies may have on other protected classes, including race, color, national origin, and age. Accordingly, employers with vaccine mandates may wish to periodically assess the extent to which the policy is disproportionately screening out employees in protected categories.

Section K.2 of the updated guidance offers some suggestions to employers as to reasonable accommodations they might consider for employees with disabilities and/or sincerely held religious beliefs. These accommodations include wearing face masks, socially distancing, working modified shifts, testing periodically for COVID-19, working remotely, and/or reassignment. The EEOC explains that employers also may need to accommodate employees who are not vaccinated due to pregnancy. Of course, these examples of reasonable accommodations are not exhaustive, and employers may consider other reasonable accommodations as well.

In an opinion piece published on STAT: Vaxxed or axed: To protect patients, every health care worker must be vaccinated, lead author Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel wrote:

One industry that has been strangely silent about mandates is health care, including hospitals, home health agencies, long-term care facilities, and others. Why aren’t all 17 million health care workers at hospitals, nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities, home health care agencies, and outpatient care sites such as federally qualified health clinics, pharmacies, physician offices, physical therapy offices, and the like required to get vaccinated against Covid-19?

It’s one thing for a retail worker not to get vaccinated. It’s unethical and appalling for a health care worker.

No vulnerable, immunocompromised patient — older adults, cancer and transplant patients, individuals with HIV/AIDS, and others — trying to beat their disease should have to worry that the people caring for them may be asymptomatic carriers of Covid-19.

For healthcare organizations, the ostensible concerns persuading them to use carrots instead of sticks is employee retention and litigation. No healthcare organization wants to lose a significant portion of its staff en masse. And no healthcare organization wants to be sued.

The Methodist system was sued by 117 of its employees over its COVID-19 vaccination mandate. In June, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit.

I expect more and more patients to ask these questions of their doctors.

“Is your entire staff vaccinated? Are there any employees who are not? Will I be exposed to any of these employees?”

If your entire staff IS vaccinated, it’s probably OK to get the credit – and say you reasonably believe all are.

If some are not, one can say federal law allows for vaccine mandates, but one has to apply reasonable accommodations for health issues, sincerely held religious beliefs, etc. These patients will then expect employees to wear masks, social distance, etc.

I recognize there are scientific concerns above and beyond patient perception. For example, an employee may have had clinical COVID-19 and is antibody positive. Or he never developed symptoms but is still antibody positive. What about such individuals?

Do they need to be vaccinated?

That’s above my pay grade.

My point: Expect patients to ask the questions.

What do you think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Medical Justice provides free consultations to doctors facing medico-legal obstacles. We have solutions for doctor-patient conflicts, unwarranted demands for refunds, online defamation (patient review mischief), meritless litigation, and a gazillion other issues. We also provide counsel specific to COVID-19. If you are navigating a medico-legal obstacle, visit our booking page to schedule a free consultation – or use the tool shared below.

Learn how Medical Justice can protect you from medico-legal mayhem… 

Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

Chief Executive Officer and Founder

Dr. Jeffrey Segal, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Medical Justice, is a board-certified neurosurgeon. Dr. Segal is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons; the American College of Legal Medicine; and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. He is also a member of the North American Spine Society. In the process of conceiving, funding, developing, and growing Medical Justice, Dr. Segal has established himself as one of the country’s leading authorities on medical malpractice issues, counterclaims, and internet-based assaults on reputation.

Dr. Segal was a practicing neurosurgeon for approximately ten years, during which time he also played an active role as a participant on various state-sanctioned medical review panels designed to decrease the incidence of meritless medical malpractice cases.

Dr. Segal holds a M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine, where he also completed a neurosurgical residency. Dr. Segal served as a Spinal Surgery Fellow at The University of South Florida Medical School. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa as well as the AOA Medical Honor Society. Dr. Segal received his B.A. from the University of Texas and graduated with a J.D. from Concord Law School with highest honors.

In 2000, he co-founded and served as CEO of DarPharma, Inc, a biotechnology company in Chapel Hill, NC, focused on the discovery and development of first-of-class pharmaceuticals for neuropsychiatric disorders.

Dr. Segal is also a partner at Byrd Adatto, a national business and health care law firm. Byrd Adatto was selected as a Best Law Firm in the 2021 edition of the “Best Law Firms” list by U.S. News – Best Lawyers. With over 50 combined years of experience in serving doctors, dentists, and other providers, Byrd Adatto has a national pedigree to address most legal issues that arise in the business and practice of medicine.