Review of physician performance by peers is a time-honored way
of improving patient care and achieving accountability. As a
learned profession, medicine and physicians have been entrusted by
the public with the responsibility of self-regulation. The public
wants to be assured that the profession is doing all it can for
quality improvement, and physicians want the process of peer review
to be objective, effective, and fair.
It is with this goal in mind
that the Massachusetts Medical Society has developed Model
Principles for Medical Peer Review of Physicians for Health
Care Facilities and Medical Professional Review of Physicians
within Health Insurance Companies. These policies replace our prior
peer review principles.
