By Jacqueline Pitts, The Bottom Line
Legislation to bring peer review practices to the medical profession in Kentucky passed through the state Senate with a 25-13 vote Tuesday. Sen. Ralph Alvarado, a physician from Winchester and longtime supporter of the legislation, presented the bill on the Senate floor.
House Bill 4, sponsored by House Health and Human Services Chairwoman Addia Wuchner, allows professionals in the medical profession the same type of review system of all other professions.
Kentucky has one of the most litigious legal liability environments, making the commonwealth a target for personal injury attorneys, which is of significant interest to businesses in the state.
Peer review legislation was originally put in Kentucky’s statute in 1976, but was overturned by the Kentucky Supreme Court. In recent years, peer review legislation would clarify Kentucky’s existing statute and impose the correct interpretation by Kentucky courts and pertinent federal law.
House Bill 4 now goes to the governor’s desk for signature.
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