External Peer Review Solves Hospital Performance Reporting Issues

Most Doctors Do Not Report Incompetent Colleagues, Survey

Written by: Catharine Paddock
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/90676.php

This article summarizes a recent national survey of physicians that indicates a serious discrepancy between the number of doctors who believe they should report incompetence (96%) and the number that actually do (45%). Conflict of interest is the key issue here, where physicians are either friends or economic foes. This study strongly supports the need for independent mechanisms that ensure evidence-based measurement of physician performance on a systematic and ongoing basis. Internal peer review committees often fail to address these types of issues. External medical peer review can go a long way toward helping to close this gap, while ensuring that poor performance is identified and dealt with in a fair and consistent way.

Survey:
"Professionalism in Medicine: Results of a National Survey of Physicians."
E. G. Campbell, S. Regan, R. L. Gruen, T. G. Ferris, S. R. Rao, P. D. Cleary and D. Blumenthal.
Ann Intern Med 2007; 795-802.
4 December 2007, Volume 147 Issue 11, Pages 795-802.