Streamline case review

To make case review during meetings efficient, all initial review needs to occur outside of the meeting. If a review has not been completed prior to the meeting, it should not go on the agenda, and if it’s not on the agenda, the committee doesn’t discuss it. The committee might waste time determining that a practitioner’s care was appropriate, when that could have been determined by the individual reviewer outside of the committee meeting. Committee discussions should be limited to cases that are of concern. The chair should also determine the time frame when completed reviews must be submitted to be placed on the agenda—somewhere between three to five working days before the committee meeting. If a case is turned in after that, it should be put on the next agenda. Establishing a timeline gives the quality staff an opportunity to put together an adequate agenda and prepare the information they need. It also provides the committee chair the opportunity to sit down with the quality staff three to five days before the meeting and look over the reviews and have a greater sense of the issues that are going to be presented at the meeting.

Source: Peer Review and Quality Committee Essentials Handbook