Editorial: Peer-based competency assessment in Canada

Assessments of physicians' competence should incorporate peer review based upon realistic performance standards, meaningful practice outcomes, and systems-based quality, writes a Canadian physician in the New England Journal of Medicine.

A challenge to the medical profession is the need for ongoing competency assessment beyond the initial credentialing of physicians which is linked to continuing medical education and continuing licensure, observes Daniel Klass, MD, CM, a member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario and the Department of Medicine, University of Toronto.

Peer assessments are components of the quality-management programs of Canadian regulatory auhtorities, "which may serve as models for other jurisdictions that are considering the broader use of professional peer assessment," he writes.

Source: "Assessing Doctors at Work: Progress and Challenges," N Engl J Med 356;4, January 25, 2007.