Expert on Sham Peer Review Discusses Tactic of Not Allowing Doctor’s Attorney to Speak, in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons
TUCSON, Ariz., Sept. 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A physician who is a victim of sham peer review at his hospital may be shocked to learn that some medical staff bylaws prohibit the physician’s attorney from speaking at the peer review hearing, writes Lawrence Huntoon, M.D., Ph.D. in the fall issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. Sham peer review is a review conducted for a purpose unrelated to improving patient care. Dr. Huntoon has run the sham peer review hotline for years for Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS).
An adverse outcome in a peer review hearing will result in a report to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) with the likely destruction of a physician’s career.
While physicians have very few rights in such a proceeding, the Health Care Quality Improvement Act (HCQIA) does require that the physician have the right to representation by an attorney or other person of the physician’s choice, and the right “to call, examine, and cross-examine witnesses.” Obviously, an attorney cannot perform those functions if he does not have the right to speak, Dr. Huntoon points out.
In a situation where medical staff bylaws prohibit a physician’s attorney from speaking at a peer review hearing, the physician should seek a declaratory judgment in federal court, Dr. Huntoon advises. If the physician is not able to obtain a declaratory judgment, he must diligently prepare with his attorney to represent himself at the peer review hearing, such as formulating objections that should be raised.
Hospitals frequently use sham peer review to destroy physicians for motives unrelated to competence or ethical behavior, Dr. Huntoon reports, and physicians need to inform themselves about this threat. Articles and videos on hospital tactics and possible defenses are archived by AAPS.
The peer-reviewed Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons is published by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), a national organization representing physicians in all specialties since 1943.
Contact: Jane M. Orient, M.D., (520) 323-3110, janeorientmd@gmail.com
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