Volume 5, No. 2 • Summer 1990

ASA Committee on Peer Review

The Committee on Peer Review (CPR) is a standing committee of the ASA whose composition and charge are stated in the ASA Bylaws. Our primary responsibility is assisting ASA members to demonstrate the high quality patient care they provide. We work to develop systems for the measurement of quality of care that can be used by departments of anesthesiology to meet the standards of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JACHO), as well as the needs of government entities and other third party payors for care

The CPR concerns itself with the relationship between anesthesiologists and the institutions in which they provide cam such as credentials for medical staff membership and delineation of clinical privileges, the measurement of the outcomes of cam and the evaluation of clinical competence of individual practitioners. The purpose of these activities is not to threaten the anesthesiologist, but rather to offer support for the high quality of anesthesia care provided by the vast majority of us. If poor quality care is being provided, we have a public obligation to identify and correct it.

The CPR is responsible for the publication of an ASA document entitled Peer Review in Anesthesiology which provides a resource for the peer review process as well as information concerning the role of the anesthesiologist in institutional environments. The booklet is available at nominal cost from the ASA Executive Office and can be a valuable asset in consideration of a practice location. The chairman of the CPR or committee members can be contacted through the Executive Office (5 1 5 Busse Highway, Park Ridge, IL 60068-3189,(708)825-5586)to answer questions.

The committee structure of the ASA is designed to assist the membership, both active and resident, in achieving their goals. Without input and questions from individual anesthesiologists, some of the purpose of the Society becomes irrelevant. Involvement is most desirable; maybe even mandatory!