Satish Poondi Quoted in Healthcare Risk Management Article on How Variations in State Law Could Impact Peer Review Policies

The September issue of Healthcare Risk Management featured the article “Peer Review Protection Varies by State – and Could Be in Jeopardy,” discussing the ability of risk managers and clinicians to investigate errors or adverse outcomes in peer review sessions without the fear of their conversations being used against them in court. The issue stems from a New York court ruling that peer review meeting minutes were not protected, prompting an entire multihospital health system to change its policy on quality assurance conferences.

Satish Poondi, co-chair of the firm’s Health Law & Pharmacy Practice, noted in the article that the New Jersey Board of Pharmacy recently introduced the Continuous Quality Improvement Program that requires pharmacy incidents to be recorded to detect, identify, and prevent prescription errors – which shows positive intent, but raises questions about what is discoverable. “There is a concern that as a practitioner, you might be unwittingly or unknowingly putting out a roadmap for the plaintiff, making their case a lot easier and shifting that burden,” said Poondi.

Poondi noted that while the regulation is relatively new, it will be critical for pharmacies to abide by the spirit and letter of the law while protecting their practice from inadvertent disclosures.

For assistance with pharmacy and other healthcare-related review policies, contact Satish Poondi.

Read “Peer Review Protection Varies by State — and Could Be in Jeopardy” here.