PEER REVIEW PRIVILEGE

Brandon Reg'l Hosp. v. Murray, No. SC05-1864 (Fla. May 10, 2007)

The Supreme Court of Florida, in a negligent credentialing suit brought by a patient against a hospital, held that the state's peer review privilege statute did not prevent the patient from discovering what clinical privileges had been granted to the physician who performed her surgery, but did bar discovery of the Credentials Committee's records. The patient alleged that her treating physician was not properly credentialed to perform surgical procedures, which resulted in the patient being injured. During discovery, the patient sought a list of the privileges that the physician had been granted. The hospital claimed that the information was protected by the peer review privilege. The Supreme Court of Florida upheld the lower court order granting the discovery request. The court noted that the peer review privilege is broad and encompasses not only the discussions of a peer review committee, but also the results and recommendations of such committees. Nevertheless, the court allowed discovery, finding that it is "fundamental and essential to any patient's decision to consent to a medical procedure" for a patient to be able to discover what clinical privileges his or her doctor has been granted. This is true even though those privileges resulted from the credentialing and peer review processes. The case was apparently filed before the enactment of the Florida constitutional amendment providing patient access to peer review records, and the applicability of that amendment was never raised.