Peer Review: Prospects and Problems
DONALD G. LANGSLEY M.D.1
1 Professor and Chairman, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Davis, Calif. 95616
Peer review is now mandated for the treatment of all patients covered by the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Utilization of services—especially inpatient services—will be controlled as norms of treatment by age and diagnosis are developed. Psychiatrists, working through district branches, are encouraged to develop guidelines for peer review in line with a recent APA position statement. In doing so they must be concerned about protecting the confidences of the patient and about threats of litigation.
