NPRC Peer Review System Certification

NPRC’s Peer Review System Certification provides hospital boards and administrators with objective, third party evidence that the hospital’s peer review system is being assessed and monitored in compliance with their fiduciary obligation to ensure patient safety. 

Although delegated to the medical staff, the hospital remains accountable for the operation of the peer review system. This accountability requires all hospital boards to answer the question:

Do I have a reasonable basis for believing that our hospital peer review system is operating effectively?

Clearly, the assurance of those who are operating or administrating the system is not enough to satisfy the reasonableness standard.

While a rigorous internal monitoring program could provide the necessary proof of accountability, third party assessment promises a more efficient and defensible method. This is precisely the need that NPRC’s Peer Review Certification satisfies and the value it delivers to hospital boards and administrators. 

Following a comprehensive assessment of the peer review system, NPRC presents the hospital with:

• NPRC Peer Review System Certification of outstanding achievement indicating that the hospital’s peer review system satisfies the NPRC Peer Review System Criteria.
• If the hospital’s peer review system does not satisfy the NPRC Peer Review System Criteria, the hospital will receive either:

• Temporary NPRC Peer Review System Certification which will become a full NPRC Peer Review System Certification upon the remediation of certain minor deficiencies; or
• A detailed outline of the enhancements required to achieve NPRC Peer Review System Certification.

• The NPRC Certification Report detailing the current operation of the hospital’s peer review system, clearly identifying any system deficiencies, and providing recommendations to increase quality of care and patient safety to assist the hospital in avoiding liability. The findings of the NPRC Certification Report are based on an audit of the hospital’s peer review system including:

• A complete review of the written documents that constitute the peer review system
• A complete review of the internal data and reports generated for the peer review system
• An on-site investigation to assess the multiple factors and procedures that constitute the hospital’s peer review system 

NPRC Peer Review Certification is the substantive review that assures hospital boards and administrators that they have diligently performed their obligation to ensure patient safety. Unlike other reviews, NPRC Peer Review Certification does not simply confirm that the peer review structure is formally in place or that the hospital peer review data is being reviewed retroactively. NPRC Peer Review Certification provides “real time” verification of the timely and effective operation of the hospital’s peer review system.