Maryland Medical Malpractice requirements of the certificate of merit

Recently, in Barber v. Catholic Health Initiatives, Inc., 174 Md.App. 314, 921 A.2d 811 (2007), the intermediate appellate court examined previous health care claims cases of this State, including this Court's decision in Walzer, and determined that the identity of the physicians who allegedly breached the standard of care must be discernable from the Certificate, and that a failure to do so will result in dismissal. In that case, the claimant named all twelve defendants in the original claim and defined them collectively as the "Health Care Providers." The court determined that it was clear from the Certificate, about whom the physician was speaking, when the attesting physician explained that the "Health Care Providers" breached the standard of care. The court stated that "[t]he Certificate cannot be analyzed in a vacuum; it must be considered in the context of the Statement of Claim that it supported, which had already been filed with the HCAO." The court noted, however, that "[t]o be sure, if appellants had re-named in the Certificate each person or entity listed in the Statement of Claim, this appeal would have been avoided." Barber, 174 Md.App. at 351, 921 A.2d at 833. I agree that the inclusion of the specific names is the better practice, as Dr. Simmons-Clemmons indicated in her amended Certificate.