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[W] Dulaney v. St. Alphonsus Regional Medicial Center8/7/2001
lay a proper foundation for the admissibility of Dr. Terry Mengert's testimony because there was no showing that Dr. Smith was familiar with the standard of care for emergency room physicians in 1994. As the district court stated:
In my view, Dr. Mengert's testimony is not admissible because he failed to adequately familiarize himself with the standards and practices of emergency room physicians in Boise in August of 1994. Dr. Mengert consulted with Dr. Smith, an internist at a Boise hospital, at the VA hospital. There was no evidence that Dr. Smith was himself familiar with the local standard of care for ER physicians practicing in Boise at the relevant time. Dr. Smith is a board certified ER physician, at least he was in April of 1999 when he gave his deposition. There is no evidence in the record that Dr. Smith was a practicing emergency room physician, nor a board certified emergency room physician in August of 1994.
The fact that defendant Dr. Holland is board certified in emergency medicine does not mean that he is held to a national standard of care. Grimes v. Green, 113 Idaho 519, 746 P.2d 978 (1987). Likewise, the fact that Dr. Smith is board certified in emergency medicine does not mean that he knows the local standard of care in Boise, Idaho. Id. Thus, Dr. Smith's knowledge of a national standard of care for emergency room physicians as a result of his board certification is not sufficient to show that he has knowledge of the local standard of care for emergency room physicians in Boise, Idaho. Id. The fact that Dr. Smith practices internal medicine in Boise does not show that he has knowledge of the standard of care for emergency room physicians in Boise, the capacity in which Dr. Holland was functioning. There is nothing in the record showing that Dr. Smith has even been in an emergency room in Boise, or that he has ever done anything to learn what is the standard of care for emergency room physicians in Boise. Idaho Code ยง 6-1012 requires actual knowledge of the applicable community standard of care. Dekker v. Magic Valley Reg'l Med. Ctr., 115 Idaho 332, 766 P.2d 1213 (1988).
The majority circumvents this deficiency by stating, "The record does not contain any evidence that the local standards applicable to a physician practicing in emergency room medicine would differ significantly from the standards applicable to a physician practicing in internal medicine." The record likewise does not contain any evidence that the local standard for a physician practicing emergency room medicine is the same as the standard for a physician practicing internal medicine.
In Kolln v. Saint Luke's Regional Medical Center, 130 Idaho 323, 940 P.2d 1142 (1997), this Court upheld the dismissal of medical malpractice claims against the defendant hospital and the defendant anesthesiologists even though the plaintiffs' expert, a neurosurgeon, stated in his affidavit that he was "familiar with the standard of health care for surgical teams, which includes certified surgical technicians, surgical technicians, registered nurses, anesthesiologists and certified nurse anesthetists, practicing in the City of Boise, Ada County, Idaho, for 1992." This Court held that the neurosurgeon's affidavit was insufficient because it did not affirmatively show how the neurosurgeon became familiar with the standards of care for the other medical personnel, nor did it affirmatively state that the standard of care for neurosurgeons was the same as that for the other medical personnel.
The affidavit does not indicate how Katz [the neurosurgeon] became familiar with the standard of care for the Anesthesia Respondents or St. Luke's, nor does it state that he had training as an anesthesia pro
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