The Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986 (HCQIA 1986) has changed the way peer reviews are handled, giving immunity to reviewers regardless of their claims. We have collected a series of great articles to point out the harm this legislation has done.THE FOX GUARDING THE HENHOUSE: How the HCQIA 1986 and state peer review protection statues have helped protect bad faith peer review in the medical community. full story...
THE HCQIA 1986 as written by Congress: This is the legislation itself, written by Congress. full text...
AMENDING THE HCQIA: The entire HCQIA, with suggested amendments added into the document as well as suggested deletions, written by William Hinnant, MD, JD
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AMENDING THE HCQIA: Suggestions for amending the legislation, by Edward Gray Davis.
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NATIONAL PRACTITIONER DATA BANK: The HCQIA established the controversial NPDB as a way for patients and hospitals to review the credentiels of physicians and avoid poor care. full story...
Medical errors, PEER-REVIEW & the NPDB, By Dr. Ron A. Virmani
Does this peer-review driven system of catching errors, educating and disciplining doctors and throwing out the "bad apples" really work as promised by the establishment?
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Are patients safe now? Reviews mixed on progress. There's been a lot of talk and even some action. But safety advocates say people are still dying and much more remains to be done.
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