We continue with our series of articles penned by one attorney, an MD, JD, giving you a view of the world through a malpractice plaintiff attorney’s eyes. In this article, the author addresses “Dealing with a sham peer review.” This attorney is a seasoned veteran. The series includes a number of pearls on how to stay out of harm’s way. While I do not necessarily agree with 100% of the details of every article, I think the messages are salient, on target, and fully relevant. Please give us your feedback – and let us know if you find the series helpful.
The purpose of peer review is to improve medical care. However, all too often this process is corrupted to carry out vendettas against disfavored physicians under the guise of improving the quality.
This is not to say all such reviews are shams. Therefore, if you find out you are being reviewed, the first issue is whether there is any validity to the alleged claims.
If so, hire an attorney knowledgeable in the healthcare disciplinary domain. He can engage the hospital or group on your behalf to formulate a plan of corrective agreed-upon steps, a specified end-point, and objective criteria for evaluating whether you met the required standards. The plan should also specify that even if your privileges are limited as a result of the agreement, that no report will be made to the Data Bank (NPDB) during the period of correction and re-evaluation. Alternatively, if such a report must be made because of NPDB regulations, see if an agreement will allow the report to be withdrawn or amended if you successfully complete the program.
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