Would you prefer this to the present system:
What if...hospitals, HMO's, and, yes, physicians were invited to agree to unannounced, random peer review? Would it be worth the effort? The inconvenience? The 'exposure'? Would there be less administrative waste? Better care?
As things now stand, hospitals conduct a paper shuffle for their triennial JCAHO certification. Peer review is often a political witch hunt to find someone upon whom to stick a (mandatory?, by quota?) Category - 4 designation. What if inspections were random, unannounced, and confidential to encourage participation for patient safety?
There is at least one suggestive precedent: Fein, E: "12 New York hospitals receive surprise visits from state inspectors." NY Times, March 12, 1998, Section B, p.1.
