In the news: Georgia Supreme court redefines discoverability

The Supreme Court of Georgia in June ruled that plaintiffs who bring negligent credentialing lawsuits against a hospital can discover certain hospital credentialing records in Hospital Authority of Valdosta and Lowndes County, d/b/a South Georgia Medical Center v. Meeks et al.

According to the court document, the court concluded that the information in the defendant physician’s credentialing file “is discoverable to the extent that it does not involve a peer review or medical review committee’s evaluation of actual medical services provided by him...every decision to extend or maintain staff privileges is a peer review or medical review function.”

Given that credentialing and peer review are interdependent, this ruling could greatly affect how the two functions are performed.