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.