ABSTRACT
Introduction ............................................................................................................ 257 State Peer Review Statutes ..................................................................................... 258 Does the Cloak of Con‚dentiality Surrounding Peer Review Proceedings and Records Foster or Hinder Improvements in the Quality of Health Care? .............. 261
The Dilemma of the Peer Review Committee................................................... 261 Given the Countervailing Factors, Can Peer Review Committees Ful‚ll the Role of Policing Their Profession When It Requires Weeding Out the Incompetent and Those Who Misbehave? ............................................................. 263 Voluntary Disclosure of Medical Errors ................................................................264 The Focus on Quality Improvement and Ef‚ciency in the Health-Care Industry Is Slowly Progressing Toward Greater Transparency That Will Continue to Erode the Cloak of Con‚dentiality Surrounding the Peer Review Process ...................................................................................................................265 Appendix I: Statutes by State .................................................................................266
