| Today, many hospitals are looking to independent | | | | review cases is an emerging a best practice. Many |
| review organizations to provide hospital peer | | | | hospitals are routinely sending their most difficult |
| reviews on sentinel events and bad outcomes | | | | and complex sentinel events out for review to |
| that occur in their hospital. Why? Well it's no | | | | independent review organizations because they |
| secret that the peer review process often does | | | | know they can get an objective non-conflicted |
| not work very well inside hospitals for a couple of | | | | decision and fast turn around time. Most hospitals |
| reasons. First, all physicians are too busy working | | | | are using IROs today for hospital peer reviews |
| on patients and so peer reviews never get done. | | | | systematically send cases out and have |
| Second, there is a lot of conflict of interest | | | | developed standard criteria about deciding which |
| associated with peer review committees. Hospital | | | | cases to send out as opposed to letting them |
| staffs have competitive pressures among the | | | | languish in peer review committees.Oftentimes |
| doctors working there. Oftentimes this can lead | | | | conflicts of interest can not be dealt with |
| to unfair determinations against a doctor for | | | | effectively inside the peer review committee |
| competitive reasons.Outsourcing hospital peer | | | | environment. |