Development of Application Guidance for Free Clinics To Sponsor a Volunteer Health Professional for Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) Deemed Status and FTCA Coverage for Medical Malpractice Claims

Résumé

In preparation for the development of application guidance for determining the Free Clinics Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) Medical Malpractice Program (Program) qualifications, extent of protection, requirements for participation, and application process by which persons can determine if and/or how a volunteer free clinic health professional can be deemed a Public Health Service employee and, therefore, afforded FTCA medical malpractice protections, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is offering an opportunity to comment on the draft Program Information Notice (PIN) titled "Federal Tort Claims Act Coverage of Free Clinic Volunteer Health Care Professionals." This Notice is available on HRSA's Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) Web site at http://www.bphc.hrsa.gov/ freeclinicsftca. This PIN details key definitions, sponsorship requirements, FTCA coverage, and the documentation required for the deeming application. HRSA believes that consultation with the public is an integral part of the application guidance development effort directed at implementing the Free Clinics FTCA Program. The opportunity to comment includes (1) Identifying those areas in the guidance