Antitrust and Hospital Peer Review

Abstract

C. Risks of Peer Review by the Hospital Medical Staff 14 1. Historical Perspective 15 2. Economic Models of the Hospital 18 3. Sociological and Organizational Perspectives 22 4. Implications 24 III. Antitrust Doctrine: An Overview of the General Issues ......... 25 A. The Nature and Scope of Permissible Justificiations ......... 28 B. Potential Immunity from Antitrust Liability 32 1. The Health Care Quality Improvement Act 32 2. State Action Immunity 34 IV. Application of Antitrust Doctrine to Hospital Peer-Review Activity 37 A. The Capacity to Conspire: A Threshold Issue 39 B. Substantive Doctrine 53