Serve the Profession

Medical Reviews

Would you be willing to occasionally review a case for the Board?

The Board is currently seeking physicians in all specialties to perform preliminary reviews of complaints.

The Board receives numerous complaints regarding care provided by physicians and other allied health care practitioners. The complaint process consists of obtaining a response from the licensee regarding the allegations, obtaining medical records and any other material necessary to perform a preliminary investigation. The next step is to have the case reviewed by a physician (consultant) in the same specialty to make a recommendation to the Board (1) whether the case should be opened for full investigation and formally peer reviewed; (2) whether the physician should be advised, by confidential letter regarding a certain issue; or (3) whether the care was appropriate and the case can be simply closed. Once this review is completed, a panel of the Board reviews the material and the consultant's recommendation and makes a final determination regarding the disposition.

A consultant is not required to testify and has immunity as well. The only requirement is that the consultant must submit a written report that includes a short synopsis of the complaint, the physician's response to the allegations, and the consultant's rationale regarding their opinion. The physician in question would not have knowledge of the consultant review at any time. Typical turn-around time is three (3) weeks.

A consultant receives 1 CME Category 1 for each medical record you review, up to 10 CMEs per renewal cycle.

If you are interested in performing this valuable service for the Board, please contact Maureen Sammons, Intake Manager at 410-764-5979, or Maureen.Sammons@maryland.gov

Peer Review: A Doctor's Perspective

This video depicts the process of physician peer review for a state medical board. It attempts to answer most commonly asked questions of prospective peer reviewers, and takes the viewer through a typical case from assignment to witness preparation. The video has been used as a training tool in the peer review process in Maryland.

Produced in 2000