Peer Review Privilege is Broad
The Eastern Section Court of Appeals issued a lengthy opinion in a case dealing with the peer review privilege under the Tennessee Peer Review Law. The case, Logan v. Everett, is a physician's suit for tortious interference with contract. The physician alleged he was negotiating to join a new hospital, but that his former hospital and co-workers made statements that led to his privileges being denied. In his suit against the former hospital and co-workers, the physician sought discovery of certain documents from the new hospital and its CEO. The Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for the defendants, as well as a protective order denying certain discovery, based upon the peer review privilege. Most of the eleven page appellate opinion is devoted to an analysis of the privilege as it applies to both discovery and evidentiary issues under the facts of the case. Lawyers battling peer review issues in medical malpractice cases might want to take a look at the opinion.