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'There is no federal statute that requires peer review committees to observe due process, which the Supreme Court has defined as (1) giving written notice of the actions contemplated, (2) convening a hearing, (3) allowing both sides to present evidence at the hearing, and (4) having an independent adjudicator (2). Prior to the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986 (HCQIA) (3), the effects of an adverse peer review finding were restricted to the hospital involved. Because the HCQIA mandates the reporting of disciplinary actions of peer review committees to the National Practitioner Data Bank, such a report could harm a physician's career throughout the nation (1-4).' Scott Segall J.D., Nathan Pearl M.D.
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