PEER REVIEW PRIVILEGE

P.J. ex rel. Jensen v. Utah, No. 2:05cv739 (D. Utah Nov. 28, 2007)

The United States District Court for the District of Utah allowed a plaintiff in a malpractice case to discover personnel records about a physician who had applied for a position reviewing tumors for a cooperative of pediatric oncology professionals and institutions, subject to an adequate protective order. Furthermore, the court held that the state's peer review statutes did not protect the files of the cooperative's IRB since those files were created to comply with laws governing research, not for the purpose of peer review. The court also found that there was no federal peer review privilege.