Peer Review: Past, Present, and Future

Abstract

When a radiologist dictates a report the intended audience is the referring clinician and, sometimes, a patient. However, our reports are reviewed by others in at least two other contexts. First, state medical boards, payment organizations, and hospital quality committees conduct targeted reviews in response to complaints about poor quality in individual cases. These bodies are charged with maintaining the quality of our health care system through physician discipline and sanctioning. Second, and more commonly, reviews are conducted by our peers as a means of ongoing quality assessment, or in other words, peer review.