5/5/09 -- Marc T. Edwards, MD, MBA of Wilson-Edwards Consulting announced today that 2 scientific manuscripts related to a national survey of hospital peer review practices will soon be published. Both articles should be of significant interest to physician leaders, hospital leaders and trustees. The research identified significant improvement opportunity in terms of peer review process and program governance.
The primary scientific paper, co-authored with Dr. Evan Benjamin, Chief Quality Officer of Baystate Health, The Process of Peer Review in US Hospitals and Its Perceived Impact on Quality of Care, should appear in the Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management in October. This paper reports the results of the survey and highlights the set of practices which are multi-variate predictors of the perceived program impact on quality of care. The research suggests that a new paradigm appears to be emerging – one that is more closely aligned with contemporary quality improvement principles than was evidenced in the past.
The second paper, focuses on the practical learning necessary to act on the results of the survey. It packages the key findings into a peer review program self-evaluation tool and offers a series of recommendations to help guide improvement efforts. This article, entitled Peer Review: A New Frontier for Quality Improvement, should appear sometime late fall in the Physician Executive Journal.
Dr. Edwards initiated the research project in 2007 after appreciating the lack of normative data on peer review program structure, process and governance.