Hospital Peer Review: AllMed's Dr. Skip Freedman authors Hospital Peer Review article.

Dr. Skip Freedman of AllMed Healthcare Management has written a Hospital Peer Review article that has just been published in “Hospitals & Health Networks” Magazine. The article, entitled “Overcoming the Politics of Peer Review” may be viewed by clicking the following link: http://www.hhnmag.com/hhnmag/jsp/articledisplay.jsp?dcrpath=HHNMAG/PubsNewsArticle/data/050208HHN_Online_Freedman&domain=HHNMAG

“The current hospital peer review system created by Congress was intended to increase quality of care for all Americans,” said Dr. Freedman. “Unfortunately, Congress did not foresee that hospital peer review actually puts physicians into an environment where political, economic and personality conflicts can easily render the process ineffective.”

Dr. Freedman said that when done properly, hospital peer review is a worthwhile process that can help doctors and physicians work better together. The article illustrates how this is possible and addresses the following issues:

• Backlash – What are the perceived penalties in today’s hospital quality management systems?
• Risk Management – Why is peer review imperative to risk management for the hospital?
• Use of Outside Parties – Why it’s important to include outside parties in the hospital peer review process?
• Benefits of Using an Independent Review Organization (IRO) – What are the possible cost and time savings when using an Independent Review Organization (IRO)?

The article also provides a list of best practices that hospital and providers alike should be aware of to implement an effective hospital peer review process.

More information on AllMed and the company's hospital peer review services can be found on AllMed’s web site at http://www.allmedmd.com.

About AllMed Healthcare Management
Founded in 1995, AllMed is a URAC-accredited Independent Review Organization (IRO) serving insurance payers, providers, TPAs and claims managers nationwide. Reviews are conducted by board-certified physicians in active practice. AllMed's growing customer base includes premier organizations, such as Educator's Mutual Life, IMS Managed Care, Tenet Healthcare Corporation, HealthGuard, several Blue Cross Blue Shield organizations, TriWest Healthcare Alliance, Allianz and many other leading healthcare payers.