Upholding recommendations from an administrative law judge, the state Agency for Health Care Administrationon Tuesday rejected a proposal by Baptist Hospital of Miami to establish an inpatient bone-marrow transplant program.
The agency issued a final order turning down a “certificate of need” for the transplant program. The decision sided with University of Miami Hospital and Clinics, which filed a challenge after the agency last year gave preliminary approval to the certificate of need.
The challenge went before Administrative Law Judge James H. Peterson III, who issued a 79-page recommended order in March that said the certificate of need — a key regulatory approval — should be denied for a series of reasons. Under administrative law, the recommendation then had to go back to the agency for a final order. University of Miami Hospital and Clinics operates a bone-marrow transplant program.