Central Peer Review System
The NPRC Central Peer Review System provides an infrastructure and process for individual hospitals within a hospital system to participate, fully or in part, in a system-wide peer review procedure that aggregates resources and expertise.
More specifically, establishing a Central Peer Review System allows participating hospitals to:
- Create central peer review committees to conduct peer review for:
- Specialties or subspecialties where there are insufficient physicians or insufficient participation by physicians for a viable peer review committee.
- A hospital that is unable or unwilling to conduct a problematic clinical peer review or professional conduct peer review.
- Facilitate the exchange and review of individual cases or practitioners by qualified peer reviewers within the hospital system.
- Upon request, elect to share a Peer Review Committee Chair to increase the expertise of the physician in charge of peer review and decrease the cost.
- Create a central forum for members of the peer review committees of the participating hospitals to:
- Discuss issues relating to coordination of the Central Peer Review System and the hospitals’ individual peer review system.
- Discuss issues relating to the operation of the Central Peer Review System.
- Discuss issues relating to the operation of the hospitals’ individual peer review systems.
- Provide programs for peer review training and education.
- Discuss peer review issues generally.
- Negotiate with providers of external peer review for rates and service accommodations to benefit the participating hospitals.
- Establish and operate a centralized Physician Effectiveness Committee (impairment committee) as a supplement to, or substitute for, the hospital’s Physician Effectiveness Committee.
- Establish and operate a centralized Peer Review Data Committee as a supplement to, or substitute for, the hospital’s Peer Review Data Committee.
NPRC and its expert consultants are available, upon request, to assist the hospital system in establishing or enhancing their current Central Peer Review System, including the training of the peer review participants. NPRC has developed a Central Peer Review System Manual to provide written guidance to facilitate this process.
See also: