Steven F. Reilly explains the Peer Review Protection Act

PENNSYLVANIA PEER REVIEW PROTECTION ACT: PROBLEM OR SOLUTION IN MALPRACTICE LITIGATION

PENNSYLVANIA PEER REVIEW PROTECTION ACT: PROBLEM OR SOLUTION


Medical professionals and institutions often advance the argument that malpractice litigation does not help to identify and correct bad medicine because the medical community polices itself. In 1974 the Pennsylvania Legislature passed the Peer Review Protection Act. Peer review quite simply is a group of peers (most often physicians) that review particular instances of health care that resulted in a bad outcome. The goal of the act was to encourage the use of Peer Review Groups by treating information generated during the peer review process as privileged and immune from discovery in malpractice litigation.
Certainly the goal of encouraging better health care services is admirable however, the Peer Review Protection Act and its confidentiality provisions can be used to hinder or obstruct legitimate fact finding in a medical malpractice case. Assume the following, taken from an actual case, a negligent delivery lead to significant injury to a baby including cerebral palsy. The hospital called in a physician in an administrative position who spoke to the delivering physician within several hours of the delivery. The hospital argued that the majority of the conversation between the two was protected from discovery (disclosure) in the malpractice litigation by the Peer Review Protection Act.
The lesson to be learned is if you are involved in an event that was caused by medical negligence ask questions. If a physician delays in providing treatment, ask the physician why there was a delay. If a study is misread or not timely reported ask why and how the mistake occurred. If a diagnosis is not timely made, ask why it was not made. Do not assume that the peer review process will help you get answers to the causes of mistakes that inured you.
If you or a friend or relative would like to discuss with an attorney a potential Philadelphia or Pennsylvania malpractice claim please feel free to contact Steven Reilly at 610-272-7075 or sreilly@reillylawpc.com. The consultation and investigation are at no cost to the client and I only take a fee (a percentage of the recovery) if there is a recovery. Please feel free to call or contact me with any questions.





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Phone: (610) 272-7075
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