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notes

THE EXEMPLARY PROJECT OF THE CENTER FOR
 PEER REVIEW JUSTICE

If you are aware of a hospital that ignores safety and uses its bylaws to benefit and shield corporate doctors and nurses and retaliates against independent doctors please call the Exemplary Project.

If you are an independent doctor who has suffered an unjust report to the National Practitioner's Data bank (NPDB) from a malpractice settlement or professional review please call the Exemplary Project.

If you have been the subject of a Sham Peer Review, a Bad Faith Peer Review or any abuse of the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986 ( HCQIA), we would like to know. We want to shine the light on hospital fraud, clear the names of the good guys and bring the bad guys to justice ! Call the Exemplary Project.

Your call will be confidential and you are protected from retaliation by the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005. info@PeerReview.org  504-621-1670


Mission: The purpose of The Center for Peer Review Justice is to:

  • Consulting Sham Peer Review Defense

  • spotlight sham medical peer review

  • provide resources for both victims of sham peer review and their legal counsel

  • work together to bring about legislative and judicial change

  • network to voice concerns regarding due process, confidentiality and the politics involved in the medical professions

  • share our victories and defeats

Preamble - What we believe in!

Follow link for Peer Review Solutions!
Richard's articles, "thank you" notes and testimonials are
included in our newest website.

Services offered by the Center….

  1. "Extra" Judicial or "Extra"- legal services. Necessary services that your lawyer does not offer  The opposing side enjoys "immunity" and as such, it takes away any advantage the Peer Reviewed Doctor might have
  2. Management of the media to get the truth out
  3. Consulting Sham Peer Review Defense
  4. Legal Consulting by Center lawyers
  5. Negotiation
  6. Legal Referral Service.  "The best lawyer is not the most expensive one."  Is your lawyer CPRJ Certified? Check with us for one in your area.
  7. Lectures on "Physician Peer Review Abuse" and/or  State Medical Board Abuse to your organization or medical society
  8. Other services

LECTURES

We are available to lecture and have presentations on the following topics:
  1. Physician Peer Review Abuse (Sham Peer Review)
  2. State Medical Board Abuse
  3. National Practitioner Database Solutions
  4. A topic of your choice.
Call The Center at 504-621-1670 or email us for details

Educating Doctors Against Sham Peer Review

Frequently the careers of physicians and other medical professionals are threatened by sudden challenges, many of which are motivated by bad faith on the part of hospital administrators and other practitioners.

If you are being accused of providing substandard care, being a "disruptive physician" or any other claim that calls into question your ability to practice medicine safely, you could be facing consequences including the following:

  • Loss of hospital privileges
  • Loss of your license
  • A listing in the National Practitioner Data Bank
  • Administrative, regulatory or criminal penalties
  • Federal health care programs exclusion

You need an experienced team with custom strategies to guide you through each stage of the process and stand up for your rights.  The administrative hearings do not follow the same "due process" rule of law that are used in a courtroom.  Are you and your legal team experienced in these frequently closed door meetings?

Call The Center at 504-621-1670 or email us for details

Sign Up For Quick Response From

Peer Review Justice


 TMA Seminar in Dallas May 2012
Lots of Lectures, Vendors, and lots of Texans to meet & educate

 

Insanity, Senator Style. See my letter in response.

posted to Facebook by Richard Willner on Thursday, March 15, 2012 at 3:42pm

Three U.S. Senators have asked federal health officials to review the way state medical boards regulate the nation's physicians.

The request was prompted by recent reports from a citizen's watchdog group and three newspapers, including the Star Tribune, that "highlighted disturbing failures of state medical boards to discipline physicians," the senators said. The letter was signed by Sens. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa; Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Max Baucus, D-Montana.

In a Feb. 15 letter, the senators asked the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to "evaluate the effectiveness" of state boards and provide recommendations on ways to protect the public from "unqualified or marginally proficient practitioners."

Among their concerns, the senators noted that the number of serious disciplinary actions imposed on doctors by state medical boards was 20 percent lower in 2010 than in 2004.

In a Star Tribune investigation of the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice, it was revealed that at least 46 Minnesota doctors escaped board discipline after authorities in other states took action against their licenses for such missteps as committing crimes, patient care errors or having sexual or inappropriate relationships with patients.

The Star Tribune's report, published earlier this month, also showed that the board never disciplined more than half of the 74 doctors who lost their privileges to work in Minnesota hospitals and clinics over the past decade.

The board, which oversees 20,000 physicians, said its record reflects a philosophy of correcting problems rather than punishing practitioners.

A Minnesota legislative commission has recommended that the medical board continue in its current form. However, Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, the commission chairwoman, said the commission plans to meet with board officials at a 9 a.m. public hearing Friday at the State Office Building to talk about questions raised by the Star Tribune investigation.

"In light of the new information, we want to take another look," Kiffmeyer said. "We want to give them an opportunity to defend themselves and [give the commission] an opportunity to reconsider what they want to do. ... This is really about protecting the public and not protecting the doctors."
 

Gearing Up for a National
 PR Blitz

We now have Members actively Involved to Take your Queries and Defend our Profession

Dallas, Austin, Houston, New York City, Lincoln IL, Chicago, Miami FL, Boca Raton, Seattle, San Francisco, Las Vegas, San Diego, Boulder CO, New Orleans, Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis, Gadsden AL, Lexington, New Haven, Boston, Little Rock, Great Falls MN, ... more being added as commitments continue lining up

We have 3 dedicated servers with redundant backups to handle bandwidth, send and receive large attachments & faxes, and our huge database collection. Developing open-source blogs, many private member groups on facebook to address the different facets by locale, profession, and discrimination cause.

Dr Willner addresses the Republican National Committee
Richard Willner comments on the Health Care Quality Improvement Act (HCQIA) and on the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), Washington, DC. Yes, he informs the Democratic leadership also!

TERRIFYING RESULTS OF "PHYSICIAN PEER REVIEW FRAUD"
 ( SHAM PEER REVIEW)

by Richard Willner, CEO
The Center for Peer Review Justice

Regarding "Suspended Physician's Hearing Put on Hold" ( AMNews ): The concept of a patent's alleged "imminent danger" coupled with legal immunities guaranteed by the federal Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986 ( "HCQIA") and similar state laws, followed by the Courts' reluctance it second guess physicians' "professional" opinions, can lead to terrifying results for the physician under fire. Both medical institutions ( e.g. hospitals) and state medical boards can play the "summary suspension" trump card on a hapless victim without fear of significant legal liability or effective judicial review. The physician being so attacked has little recourse, and he or she may suffer terrible and irreparable monetary loss, even if demonstrably "not guilty". (read more)

(follow up on this particular case - Gil N. Mileikowsky, MD)

 

This is America!! Why no Justice for Physicians and Surgeons?
 

Physician Brownouts and Hospital Liability
Shifting Up Due to Obama Care

by Richard Willner, CEO
The Center for Peer Review Justice

I am not shocked to see such a sharp uptick in “Physician Brownout’ sham peer review cases.  Physician Brownout is a term Richard Willner coined to describe a special kind of peer review or professional retaliation which involves liability shifting for nursing error or any of a number of events where a hospitals has liability for its agents.
“After 11 years and hundreds of cases, you get to be a bit of an epidemiologist on sham peer review. (read more)

Health Care Fraud and Accrual Based Accounting

by Richard Willner, CEO
The Center for Peer Review Justice
http://www.goldcoastchronicle.com/politics/health-care-fraud-use-accrual-based-accounting/
May 18, 2011

Health care fraud is a double entry system of accounting. We must discipline our thinking to reflect that of the accountant and lawyer so engaged in order to find the crooks and gather evidence of their misdeeds. It is pointless to completely focus on the all too necessary whining and sniveling and cross examination of our self worth that the system forces us to do. We eventually only bail water into our own boats and vomit on our friends.
Every time you hear about sham peer review of independent doctors, ask yourself what is on the credit side of each equation. Richard Willner is the chief epidemiologist of this. Is it in the thousands? (read more)

Sham Peer Review and Increased Physician Suicide Risk

by Richard Willner

Various stressors have been correlated to physician suicide, including: personal, financial, and profession. Anyone who has been under pressure from a legitimate review process will readily tell you that it can be stressful. If the review is a sham, the stressful nature of the review increases dramatically. (read more)

Availability of Information to Patients as an Offset to Sham Peer Review

by Richard Willner

The present scheme for providing information to patients that would presumably allow patients to minimize their own risks involving the treatment by various doctors is not perfect, to say the very least. Currently, state licensure boards and other disciplinary bodies regulate the flow of physician quality parameters. (read more)


Winner of the Semmelweis Society's Clean Hands Award!!

26 Oct – Nashville - The Board of Directors is proud to announce that Dr. Richard Willner, is the Semmelweis Society International “Clean Hands Award” recipient for 2010.

Tireless Advocate

Civil litigation is not for everyone, but Dr. Willner has successfully kept physicians employed – even when facing seemingly hopeless odds.

“Litigation is very time-consuming.  One is out of the operating room for prolonged periods of time, it costs a fortune and the rate of success is very poor,” says Willner.

In one case, Dr. Willner’s work led to the resignation of an entire State Podiatric Medical Board.

Among the many ‘thank you’ letters are examples of gratitude for expunging records, reinstated licenses, and prevented data banking – cases that included a neurologist subjected to a criminal trial.  Thanks to Dr. Willner, his medical license was reinstated.

Dr. Willner applies a sound approach to prevent Data Banking by counseling physicians labeled as “disruptive” and getting them back into practice within the specified time limits.  In extreme cases, he has had cases expunged entirely.

SSI commends Dr. Willner for untold hours of mentoring and counseling.  His body of work attests to his love of medicine and deep admiration for honorable physicians.

For more information about Dr. Willner, contact us:

Center for Peer Review Justice

Announcing the honoree of the Center for Peer Review Justice Award

 Healthcare Reporter of the Year

Steve Twedt of the Pittsburg Post Gazette

"The Cost of Courage"

How To Protect Physician Whistleblower Patient
Advocates from Retaliation

 

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Just provide your email for the Latest News!

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Specialty: Consulting Sham Peer Review Defense

CPRJ:  Development of PR and Media Department

The CPRJ began after the crusade to prove the innocence of a single physician.  In 2000, a podiatrist named Brian Gale worked for the head of the North Dakota Podiatry Board, and they subsequently had a falling out.  Brian then began working for a group called Bismarck, which was in direct competition to his previous employer, the head of the board.  After this move, he began being terrorized by the Podiatric Board.  After filing suit, he twice lose in the Court of Appeals, then at the North Dakota Supreme Court.

In despair, and without any further avenues to pursue, he wrote a letter to fellow members of the profession and asked for their help.  In stepped his savior, Dr. Richard Willner.  Dr. Willner was curious as to how a physician with 4 years of residency training, the longest available residency for podiatrists, could possibly be such a "bad doctor"  Of note, Dr. Gale had not a single malpractice suit.  Brian Gale sent him 29 pounds of documents regarding his case, and Dr. Willner poured through these documents giving each his undivided attention.  

At this time, the CPRJ initiated a public relations and media firm that became so powerful, it salvaged Dr. Gale's professional reputation, reinstated him in podiatric medicine, and resulted in the resignation of ALL the members of the North Dakota Board of Podiatric Medicine.  As time passed, this public relations firm has continued to grow and become more influential.  Through the utilization of technology and multiple databases, the CPRJ has been essential in highlighting problems with sham peer review and exposing those individuals who participate in this practice.  These databases include healthcare writers of every national newspaper in the United States, many thousands of healthcare blogs, and every major television reporter covering healthcare stories.

The CPRJ has recently partnered with women's groups to specifically crusade for women faced with disparities in the medical workplace.  These women's groups include political advocacy groups, women's blogs, individuals focused on women's studies in universities, and women politicians.  The database formed with these partnerships includes demographic data which is maintained by a battery of committed volunteers nationwide.

The CPRJ database is used in the plight for physician justice. The headquarters are located in Dallas, Texas, but this information is backed up in several states.  With 11 years under its belt, the CPRJ has become exponentially more powerful than it was even in the beginning years of 2000.  From the beginning, the CPRJ has sustained public relations for greater than a year for those affected.  Physicians involved in sham peer review can finally even the playing field and have the chance to stand up for what they believe in:  a true and just system.

CPRJ has partnered with the fastest growing medical society, the America's Medical Society, www.AmericasMedicalSociety.com , to extend it's reach to Medical doctors, Osteopaths, Podiatrists, Nurses, Physician therapists,  Occupational Therapists, Pharmacists, etc

 

Slave Labor and Liability?
The Effect of EMTALA on Physicians


Where do the complaints come from?


Medical Tuesday Network
Physicians, Professional and Information Technology Communities
 Networking to Restore Accountability in HealthCare & Medical Practice

Have you Joined?


Blogs being developed for specific arenas

Hospital Peer Review

Physician Peer Review

Surgeons Peer Review

 Conferences - More TBA

Dr Richard Willner,  Faculty member in Seattle Conference
 Thrive - Not JUST Survive III: "Shark Proof Your Practice"

Agenda from San Antonio Conference
Thrive - Not JUST Survive II: "Shark Proof Your Practice"



Dr Willner quoted or featured in the Media

(click on link to read article)

Should " DUE PROCESS RIGHTS " be part of hospital peer review?

By Judge Scott E. Segall and William Pearl, MD

....There is no federal statute that requires peer review committees to observe due process, which the Supreme Court has defined as giving written notice of the actions contemplated, convening a hearing, allowing both sides to present evidence at the hearing, and having an independent adjudicator 

 ... Because the HCQIA mandates the reporting of disciplinary actions of peer review committees to the National Practitioner Data Bank, such a report could harm a physician's career throughout the nation

... Additionally, there is no requirement that the physician be given notice and an opportunity to be heard, and there is no requirement that members of the peer review committee be unbiased. The HCQIA recommends that the physician should get notice of the allegations, time to prepare for a hearing, a list of witnesses, the right to legal counsel, and an impartial fact finder.

... However, the act concludes "A professional review body's failure to meet the conditions described in this subsection shall not, in itself, constitute failure to meet the standards of this act)." This failure of the HCQIA to require due process calls into question the fundamental fairness of the medical peer review system..

...The purpose of requiring due process is to ensure that the actions taken are not arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable. Where there is no due process, the system invites abuse  

...Peer review in its current form fails to protect an investigated physician from committee members having an economic or personal bias. Economic bias occurs when a committee member has a financial interest in the outcome. 

...Personal bias is inevitable when coworkers judge each other. Some people are very likable, and others illuminate the room by their absence.

...Federal law prohibits a federal judge from hearing cases in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned or in which he has a financial interest (11). The same standards should apply to member of a peer review committee. The potential for abuse when these suggested procedures are not followed would indicate the need for mandatory due process.

 ...The effects of an adverse peer review decision are no longer limited to the relationship between a physician and a hospital. The decision becomes part of the National Practitioner Data Bank. Medical peer review must provide physicians the protections of due process.

These are excerpts...for Full Article follow Link  


Slander by Medical Experts


What to do when your lawyer
did not give you the success he implied


6/4/2004 - JFK hospital reinstates high-risk heart surgeon

Dr. Lancelot "Lance" Lester, a top Palm Beach County heart surgeon who was suspended last summer by JFK Medical Center over "quality of care" issues, has been reinstated by the hospital.

Lester, who specializes in treating high-risk patients, is expected to be back in the operating room within a few weeks, hospital spokeswoman Madelyn Passarella said Thursday.


Plaintiff wins Case against Databank!!!
Cuthbert O Simpkins, MD pages 1-7

"JOHN DOE, MD" V. DATABANK WIN 
EMAIL  LEGAL@PEERREVIEW.ORG FOR DETAILS

A PEER REVIEW WIN!!! - David M Odom, MD - Alaska

OTHER PEER REVIEW WINS !!!!!  
PLEASE E-MAIL  LEGAL@PEERREVIEW.ORG OR CALL  504-621-1670


Probing legal questions  - you need to ask when charges are brought against you
                  - we will help you find answers at the Center for Peer Review Justice
- Consulting Sham Peer Review Defense


Are "TIME", "NEWSWEEK" and "USA TODAY" Going To Be
Investigating ....

Hospital Peer Review Issues

What Others are Saying about the Center

We do not showcase our wins as people deserve their privacy. However, I do show their "Thank you notes" with their initials with their permission.

  • From: Pastor Alvin J. Jackson,
    Dear Dr. Willner,
    I along with the members of the First Emmanuel Baptist Church located at 1301 Solon Street, Gretna, Louisiana would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your personal concern for patients starting up the Diabetic Black American Outreach Program. The valuable information you provided regarding Diabetes and the Black community did indeed help answer many questions that the members had. In many instances for those in attendance ths questions answered and information you provided were the first step in recognizing and dealing with the serious problem of Diabetes. This outreach program already has proven to be very successful. In the short period of time it has reached Black at the following churches: Secondary Highway Baptist Church, Regular Baptist Church, St. Stephens Baptist Church.
    So again, I would like to thank you for doing something that has never been done before. You have stretched out your hands to a community, and race or people that had little knowledge of a very serious problem affecting them. The implementation of the Diabetic Black American Outreach Program will help many of those that would not otherwise seek help or answers to many of their questions or concerns.
    Sincerely,
    Rev. Alvin J. Jackson
     

  • From: "LL"
    To: Richard W. <info@peerreview.org>
    Sent: Sunday, December 18, 2011 12:22 PM

    Subject: Bless you!!!

    So Richard; how do I express my "dripping" praise for you?  Well, I am now wearing 3 winter jackets so I can perspire to the point of dripping gallons of sweat as a symbolic gesture.  You are very generous and I appreciate from the heart what you are doing. 
    Will be in touch.
    Enjoy your game as well.  The Jets need to run the table I think at this point to get the last Wild Card spot.

    Lou

  • Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2011 12:48 PM
    Subject: thank you
    Rich,

    Just under a year ago, I was in danger of losing my career. I was thrown into an experience which was horrifying, stressful, expensive, and downright degrading. I was being attacked. When I first spoke with you, I was afraid you would think I was a horrible person (as those shammers would have one believe.)

    You listened and saw the truth and helped me; you stuck with me and we ended up victorious. I wanted to thank you for all your help. that sounds so trite in comparison to all you did for me. You truly are a saint. You even took the time to speak with me late at night when I would call terrified about keeping my career. You are intelligent, committed, energetic, and innovative; and you have many good friends in many places. You are dedicated to your work and to doing the right thing whatever it takes. I commend you.
     
    You are probably responsible for many lives being saved that you don't even know of. Why? Because you save the practices of those physicians who are the good ones, who get wrongly accused by the bad ones. You really should be sainted or knighted or something like that. Words do not do justice to express my heartfelt appreciation to you!

    Sincerely,
    L.G., MD

     

  • Sent: Monday, November 7, 2011 2:52 PM
    Dr. Willner,

    I just want to express my heart felt gratitude towards you. I truly believe God put you in my life as a guardian angel. When I first contacted you, I felt relieved just to have someone to talk to who believed in me and offered me guidance throughout this whole process. I had no idea what a huge role you would play in helping me get my license. Throughout the months, I have not always known exactly what your plans would be or what you were doing behind the scenes, but now in looking back, it all makes sense. I know I say this a lot, but I definitely feel as though you were made for doing what you do. You have the knowledge and experience to correct the wrongs of the medical field, but above all, you have the heart. You have a heart of gold and truly care about people, and that is why you are so successful.

    The past few weeks leading up to the medical board hearing were so stressful and I could not have gotten through it without you. I can never express enough to you my gratitude for you driving all the way down here to be at my side during the hearing. Without you, I would not have a license or a career in medicine. You have made a friend for life. Please let me know if there is anything I can ever do for you...

    KMS, MD

  • From: KS
    To: Richard Willner <info@peerreview.org>
    Sent: Monday, May 2, 2011 6:03 PM
    Subject: Dear Richard,

    Thank you for all your hard work. I know you have your heart and soul in what you do. It is clear to me you give everything a great deal of thought and you are always working on your cases, day and night. I know what you do doesn't happen without a tremendous amount of caring as well as a keen intelligence. I have been so grateful you have been there for me so many time. It is very overwhelming going through all the changes and to work through all the uncertainty it brings to one's life. I am confident if there is anyone who can help me it is you. My very best to you for your dedication and unyielding desire to help those of us who find ourselves in what feels like an insurmountably array of difficulties that come with a scam peer review.

    KS in Massachusetts

  • Sent: Mon, October 11, 2010 12:16:43 PM
    Subject: Thank you

    Dr. Willner,

    Thank you for your hard work and invaluable insights with regard to handling disciplinary matters with the medical board. Your approach to handling these matters helped avoid a deportation because the lack of due process protections in medical board matters may frustrate favorable resolution through the adversarial legal processes available to physicians.

    WPR

  • A letter from the Hospital following a killer sham?
    That is a first. Who would believe it?

  • Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 5:46:44 AM
    Subject: Happy Holidays!!

    Dear Rich, Our spirits were raised today when we read the APOLOGY letter from our old hospital.  It has been expensive, stressful, and educational for myself and my family to survive the ordeals begun a year ago.  Thanks for your ongoing support and for always being there for us.  Talking to you first prevented me from doing or saying the wrong thing....our surgeons' angel!! Thanks for everything!!
     
    T.H, DO, FACOOG
  • Dr. Richard Willner

    Center for Peer Review Justice

    December 10, 2007

    Dear Rich,

    Until recently, I had never known the real depths of despair.  As an individual who has desired to be a physician from a very young age, witnessing first-hand the near destruction of my career was tantamount to being annihilated as a person.  Your perseverance to rectify my situation and to seek-out the hidden method to unravel and thus resolve the dilemma of my career is nothing but phenomenal.  The drive with which you approached the case and your unyielding desire to see this “wrong” put to “right” is remarkable.  Few individuals have the motivation to help anyone in a situation such as this, yet you assisted me although I was previously unknown to you.  Quickly, you established a method to salvage my career. You did that for me as well as many others.  I can not thank you enough for the work that you have accomplished.

    If I could reward you the Nobel Prize for humanitarianism… I would do so.  There are many unsung heroes in this world.  You are definitely one of them.  A civil rights activist of sorts…. Leading the fight for those unjustly accused who have committed no crime except that of desiring quality.  Unfortunately, the medical community has named the outspoken disruptive.  Ironic, I think, in a land where speech is to be free.  Is it really free if it costs one his/her career?  I think not.

    I applaud your efforts and those of your hidden “band of brothers” who guide you along the way.

    May you continue to persevere for those of our medical family who are unjustly persecuted.

    Please continue your grass-roots efforts to inform the uninformed of the misnomer assigned to the phrase peer review.

    With heart-felt gratitude,

  • December 5, 2007 6:07:10 AM
    Subject: RE: Orlando Medical News

    Fascinating, Rich.

    I have to say, when I read this, I felt a deep sense of pride & privilege. I wish my Mom had been alive to know what you¢re doing. She was like that; she'd stand up, and defend others, the weak, and those who've been given a raw deal. You ended up helping many, many others with their careers. This is not only cool, it¢s great. I¢m really impressed at the position you've established here. You¢re a f***** ghost buster!

     B. B.

  • December 2007 - Follow Link for Orlando Medical News Article
  • Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 5:36:18 PM
    Subject: LOUISIANA MEDICAL NEWS
    DATE: October 30, 2007
    TO: Richard Willner, DPM
    RE: LOUISIANA MEDICAL NEWS (follow link for full article)

    Rich:
    Congratulations! This is an excellent article. I applaud your accomplishments, and wish you continued success in the battle against the 'Whores of Healthcare'.

    Sincerely,
    M. P.,  M.D.
     
    Dr. Richard B. Willner’s crusade began seven years ago (2000) with an e-mail. In it, Dr. Brian Gale described his battle with the North Dakota Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners. Gale maintained the dispute began when he left another doctor’s practice to begin his own. That doctor sued Gale, and the board filed disciplinary charges against Gale. The resulting ordeal was at the eight-year mark when Willner got involved. By that time, Gale had run through seven attorneys and burned through more than $500,000 in legal fees, only to lose at the state Supreme Court.
    Dr. Richard Willner

    “I asked him to send me a copy of the source documents,” Willner said. “He sent me 29 pounds worth. I went through them. I saw he was 100 percent truthful, and I did not understand how a state board could terrorize a licensee. I volunteered to help him.” Three years later, every board member had resigned from the North Dakota board, Willner said.

    “You’ve got a guy, a middle-aged man who said, ‘You know, I don’t really want to do another hammer toe surgery again. I’ve had enough,’” Willner said. “I want to do something better. I want to do something dynamic.” He founded The Center for Peer Review Justice Inc. The center now has offices in Kenner and Dallas. Eventually Willner retired as a podiatrist.

    Source: Ted Griggs, Louisiana Medical News [10/25/07]

  • September 24, 2007 7:19:29 PM
    Subject: Re: Holiday Season

    Rich,
    I too want to wish you and your family the happiest of holidays! I am still hopeful that all of your efforts will help to salvage the career my husband has worked so hard for, literally giving up everything to dedicate himself to the care of his patients. It is heartbreaking to watch such a truly gifted surgeon, who has made such a profound difference in the lives of so many, be literally robbed of his livelihood and his ability to provide for his own family -- unjustly, by others who feel threatened by his skill and compassion. For literally five years now I have watched the man I love suffer in a way I never knew possible...the collateral damage is unfathomable.

    If it weren't for your ongoing encouragement and support, I don't know what might have happened... you continue to be his beacon of light leading him out of the darkness. I too will never forget you and will forever be grateful for all that you have and continue to do to help him! You are an angel of mercy sent from heaven above to fight for the downtrodden when they have lost the will to fight for themselves. Words cannot express the gratitude I feel for all the support you continue to provide!

    Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
    Pam
 
  • Tuesday, September 18, 2007

    Richard all of you will be recognized for your good deeds.  Since experiencing the process first hand the world seems a much more complex place than just a few months ago.  I look around and every one is gunning for doctors.  What is the point of all this schooling, training, experience and talent if groups want you obliterated on whim?  Is this the price of physician existence constant? vigilance, preparation, and engagement?    As an aside I remember Clarence Thomas during his nomination hearings refer to a "lynching"  Justice Thomas has no clue what a real lynching is. 

    Modern organized medicine is a joke.  Physicians need to take some of that money they are throwing away and donate it to a group that can help them where the rubber meets the road.

    The "REAL" organized medicine is the CPRJ and its think tank.

    As Yom Kippur approaches:

    Gmar hatimah tovah

    Baruch atah adonai

    Peace, S.M., MD
     
  • Sept 17, 2007
    My husband did not utilize Rich.  He decided to continue it on his own.  Rich will work very hard for you.   I am familiar with the cases he has won and it's incredible actually.   Rich is relentless & an amazing individual.   Thank you and good luck.  I wish you the best.  I was not prepared for the battle.  It was relentless and shocking & so very unfair.  My husband was my soul mate & best friend.  He was a beautiful human being:  Generous, kind, nurses referred to him as a gift to their hospital.  It's important that you do not try to carry this all on your own.  I trust that you have a tremendous support system.

    Candace (widow of obstetrician who committed suicide)
     
  • August 7, 2007
    Dr. McKalip, the biggest risk to medical practice economic viability I have never heard mentioned at the FMA, AMA, or any county medical society meeting.

    Read this excellent article (link below) and the insert sections on peer review. As a 2 time FMA delegate who is just beginning to get a feel for the process, I may have simply missed resolutions on this issue. Ultimately the biggest imminent threat to your practice economic viability and your medical licensure comes not from insurance companies but from your fellow physicians and local hospital systems.

    http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/03299/234499.stm

    The 4 part series of articles was written in 2003 and I cannot believe I had no clue about their significance and content. There are few if any organizations that actually help physicians with this threat to their economic practice viability. It is quite literally the mucormycosis of your professional career. Like that disease it is rare, poorly recognized, and rapidly devastating with high degree of morbidity and mortality.

    I have no financial interest in the center for peer review justice except that I am a member.

    Sam MD
     
  • April 19, 2007 7:02 PM
    Subject: Re: Fw: Sham Peer Review survival

    Rich, thank you for keeping me abreast and updated.
    You are an Angel of Light for the professionals. A strength during their storm, a light of hope and one who is able to produce results in favor of the Professional.
    Candace
    (widow of obstetrician who committed suicide)
     
  • Tuesday, April 17, 2007 4:25 AM

    Dear Rich,

    It has been a pleasure working with you. By taking your advice, even when it seemed to go against what some attorney and medical practice advisors told me, I am saved. Unless you have experienced a shamming, you won't know how isolating and anxiety producing life in the hospital trenches can be. Your experience and knowledge were my light and beacon. You can't cover true light with darkness.

    All of the "experts" that I have had to use in my situation did their jobs, you actually helped me stay on the correct course. I now have many "experts" interested in your opinion and we have been working with your advice in mind.

    My husband was happy that I could call you late at night, over weekends, multiple times when we needed to do some problem solving. I was actually able to have some wonderful family moments during this very rough patch, because the Center helped me to "decompress".

    Some of my colleagues, who knew I was being shammed, were impressed by how happy and calm I was during my peer review process. It wasn't Prozac; it was Rich. I was able to stay positive and focused on saving my career because you helped me maintain my confidence in myself.

    My life took a different course than expected. I am on the verge of some wonderful opportunities. It was because you kept me strong with my head held high, that I was able to see that there were other places to use my skills. You have many connections to very useful and talented people. It was wonderful to belong to this medical, professional fraternity.

    I owe you everything. I will gladly help others if I can. Please let me know what I can do. Sham peer review is a career - ender. Sham peer review should be stopped. It can happen to anyone.


    Sincerely,
    TH, OB/GYN
  • Sunday, February 25, 2007 5:59 AM

    Seems to me Rich, you look like my guardian angel. I can just barely make out the halo.

    OB GYN   Michigan
  • Dec 15, 2006

    Rich,

    It is really quite amazing to me the degree of perseverance you have for working on these sham peer review cases. As we all know, some of these cases take a great deal of time to resolve, yet you continue to look for windows of opportunity until there is a resolution. The resolution we all seek is to get back to work in our field of training, and nobody has a success record that can compare to yours.
    I want to thank you for your consideration and continuing efforts, and always being available whenever I have a question or a problem. I can't think of anyone else, in any business, who is literally available all hours of all the days of the week! I cannot imagine trying to negotiate this course without your assistance.

    Sincerely,
    R. L., M.D.
  • December 2006 -
    Dear Rich:
     
            Thank you for the long email.  You ARE a beacon of light.  
    Absolutely!   I remain deeply saddened of the reality that physicians are being hunted and destroyed by hostile hospital administrators, medical boards and peers.   You are fighting a war that you certainly will win.  My heart continues to grieve for the talented professionals who become targets and "are driven to slaughter."   You are their light and their hope.  It is wonderful to watch your organization grow.
    Candace (widow of obstetrician who committed suicide)
  • Saturday, November 04, 2006

    Thanks for the encouragement Rich.  I really do appreciate your insight and perspectives relative to my situation.  These have been quite helpful.  Have a great weekend even though I know that you work continuously.

    Bernie

    Oct 28, 2005

    I will do anything you suggest. I am very impressed with what you have done and the people you have surrounded yourself with. you have surrounded yourself with reputable people and thank you for letting me even be part of this.
    J.C. MD
     

  • September 2005
  • Dear Rich,
    Thanks for being a light in the darkness. Losing my license because bad people did things in my office has been the pits. You have been a great encouragement to me; and helped me to reach out and do the right thing and the positive "makes a difference thing". You have given me worthwhile and supportive advice and helped me to get through these bad days. It has helped me to understand the people and power plays behind the injustice.
    You have helped me get to a positive outcome. I think you have a great grasp of the games being played .I just would like you to know that I count you among my friends. Sometimes you have to do what creates the best outcome, not what ever comes first to mind. I was really too mad and down to think straight.
    I would recommend your consulting for anyone that gets shot down by a very flawed system. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

    Sincerely,
    Dr K.

  • Sunday, September 04, 2005

    Dr. Willner,
    I want to thank you for your support throughout my dealings with peer review fraud since 2001. You have truly helped my family and I survive this crime.

    Your knowledge and expertise have proven to be invaluable in matters of peer review fraud. I would strongly recommend that anyone who thinks they may be involved in a medical staff conflict contact you immediately. To ignore this recommendation is foolhardy, and could mean the end of a career. Those of us who have been through these events know. You are truly an expert, if not the only expert, in this field.

    A physician may be represented by one of the best attorneys money can buy, but I guarantee they are still handicapped if they don't have your support. No affiliation with any physician group (AMA, TMA, etc.) is going to significantly help, either. Of all the money I have spent on defending myself, I have only seen returns on the investment in time and money I have made with you and your organization.

    In fact, I fear there is nobody who could continue the services that you and your organization provide should anything happen to you. So, you and your family are welcome to stay at my home anytime a hurricane threatens Louisiana again.

    I never knew such acts as peer review fraud were possible in the U.S. Fortunately, you have been helping victims of peer review fraud successfully fight this (type of crime) for years! Your organization is more valuable, both to the physician and the public, than the AMA.

    Sincerely,
    R. M.D.
    Chief, Dept. of Surgery-
    Diplomate, American Board of Surgery

     

  • All of us who are reasonable and concerned about peer review know of Rich's abilities and dedication.  He has a vast amount of experience in this area as well as connections and a sound fund of knowledge.  We need him and physicians who have been shammed need him.

     MD JD
     
  • "I think we need to have Rich Willner involved in the US Congressional hearings.  He would bring a wealth of experience in the trenches and has a database of numerous cases.  He also could give a more broad perspective than most of our members."
     
    Bill  (Chairman)    3-31-05
    B. H.  MD, JD
     
  • Lawrence Huntoon, MD, PhD, Neurologist, Editor of the AAPS Journal
    Comment about Dr Willner August 2004
    You are unique.
    Lawyers are not unique.

    When people encounter something or someone unique, they tend to shy away from him or it, not knowing what to make of it. Such is the curse of greatness and uniqueness.

    M
    any people initially thought Einstein was a hopeless idiot.
    He was different.
    Ugly attitudes is like flak.
    You know you are flying over the target when you start to see flak all around you.
    Smile, you're the one in the plane with the bombs.

    No you wouldn't do anything else.
    I know you better than that.
    You really like what you do, and you do it well.
    Whether idiots recognize that or not doesn't matter.
    Remember, they are the idiots.

    And, I appreciate your methods.

    When you are outnumbered and outgunned, and there is nothing fair about the playing field, the only option is "under the radar," stealth, "guerilla warfare."

    Larry

  • by J. Matthews , MD

    Richard Willner is clearly the front runner in the area of Advocacy in the Peer Review Arena.

    This is an area where the Peer Review Organizations enjoy an incredible shield of Immunity which insulates them from having grievances addressed in a legal arena.


    These are human Beings making decisions on issues that often relate to personality, professional relationships, often secret, personal agendas, market shares, styles of practice, life styles, race, religion and many other things that should not be part of the peer review process.

    Richard Willner has mastered the area of Extra Legal Methods to address the Peer Review Organizations.  How do you Shine a Light on things that these Boards and Committees have done.  They do not like the negative publicity that results when their mistakes and often corruption is made public.

    Advocacy costs money.  One should not expect it to be free.  People who promote things deserve to be compensated.  That is whether they are advocating as a Lobbyist, or preparing an advertising campaign for a product or your practice.  Richard Willner acts as a personal advocate for individuals to bring their case to light, or possibly to restore a reputation that has been trashed. 

    There are not many people who do what Richard Willner does.  Where would you begin to find someone with his skills or even to know that someone with his skills exists when you need them Certainly the best place to tell people about yourself and your services is anywhere that you are explaining what has happen need to others.

    You may not like the fact that there is someone there advocating for people who have gotten shafted...but he has been successful because you know he is there.

    Richard WILLNER is a Master of the Extra Legal Approach to Defense against Administrative Injustice.  You should be thankful that there is someone that is there to help you when you need him
     
  • I think it is a major accomplishment - i.e. it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, in most cases, for a prophet to be recognized in his own town (comes from the New Testament).

    Justice and fairness that is dependent on people and not the rule of law is a very tenuous thing. People come and go.

    Lawrence Huntoon, MD, PhD
     
  • Hi,  The widow of a physician driven to suicide told me of your Center. I am thrilled, as I am now unemployed and unemployable as a result of character assassination and State Board malice.

    I will call you Monday for more information and to join, but wanted to send this after reading your web site, to let you know that you are a beacon in the wilderness, a light of reassurance and a comfort simply by being there.

    I cannot tell you how eager I am to get involved, to join you, and to plead for your help.

    Rick H.
  • 11/08/04

    Dear Rich,

    Thank you for enrolling me in the CPRJ's physician education center. The volume of information contained in the program was impressive. It was very educational and enlightening to review the sixty landmark legal cases that involved and went against "disruptive" physicians. I was floored by the case summary suspensions and the catastrophic consequences they cause. Most fascinating was how there seemed to be an automatic presumption of psychiatric of substance abuse problems in the physicians accused.

    As physicians we deal with out peers as our " colleagues" and assume they will understand our behavior. I now realize, with the help your program and ability to effectively communicate this information, that physicians must review the peer review process as a legal one and not "grand rounds". It is so important that physicians understand the meaning of the work" disruptive" and how nurses and other hospital staff apply it to our behavior with almost complete immunity.

    Your program is complete and thorough in every way and I am sure it is in no small part due to your passion for your job. You are able to motivating and demanding or your physicians, but in a funny and dynamic way. Most importantly, I am certain that this program can improve performance and patient care.

    As CEO of the CPRJ you show a unique passion and attention to physicians needs which makes a winning combination.

    Again, thank you so much for the hard work you have done for me and all of CPRJ's clients.
     

  • Medical Forum Post July 2003

  • AAPS comments from  Clive Sinoff, MD;  L.R. Bailey, MD;  and J. Swift, MD

  • Comments sent by California General and Neurosurgeon - 7/22/04
    "My thanks to Dr. Willner for taking so much time to speak with me. I plan to inform my attorney that I would like to obtain advice from your organization in order to put a stop to S.M. Hospital from their repetitive career assassinations. They have their own HMO, and if you do not "belong" to the chosen group then you are a target. I've been threatened directly by the administrator to join their group or he'll "drive me out of town." They also have one particular physician who has sold his soul to S.M. Hospital  and readily criticizes any and all individuals whom he just does not like. The S.M. Hospital also has a surgeon who is one of their HMO docs who is used to ruin the "outside" surgeons....Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have enjoyed a stellar career in surgery and have an impeccable reputation in community. BUT, the hospital and their paid whores have tarnished it."

     5/12/04  - "To Whom it May Concern:
    I am writing this to commend Richard Willner, president of the Center for Peer Review Justice, Inc. In a very short period of time, he developed a plan and approach that saved my professional career. If I had taken the approach that I had in mind, I would have undeservedly though undoubtedly lost my hospital privileges. Due to what I experienced of Richard Willner’s passion, dedication, creativity, and keen intelligence - I recommend him to all physicians in all the varieties and all stages of trouble that we can find ourselves in. If Harriet Tubman can be called the Moses of African Slaves, I think it is appropriate to call Richard Willner the Moses of beleaguered physicians."

    Sincerely, Annie Bukacek MD

  • The Center for Peer Review Justice quoted as a source by the AMA
  • "Your accomplishments on defending your clients is more than remarkable. It's miraculous. But I know DAMN well it is the result of hard work, gritty intelligence on your part and a creativity that defies your toughest adversaries. Rich, they didn't know what they were up against...YOU.

    I'm so proud of you I could shake you by your shoulders and give you a hug."

    Dr Mike Rosenblatt


  • Dear Dr. Willner,

    Thank you for listening to me and trying to help me. You are a very good person, honest, sincere, trust worthy, over all a person who really cares and says and does what is practical/real/helping with open heart...no amount of money can do that....I am so much grateful I met you and you are helping me.

    Thank you DOC.... You are one of a kind...

    R.M.  MD


    June 6, 2004 - " Richard is my hero."  R.A, MD, JD


    Author: Lydia H Grotti, MD, FCCP
    Subject: Richard Willner and the Center for Peer Review Justice 

    Thank God for Richard Willner!

     When I was at my lowest point in my ongoing battle for the right to work in the field of my dreams, that for which I trained for 6 years and in which I am board certified, a voice came to me over the phone, telling me that I am not alone in this farce that is called "disciplinary action by the Board" or "peer review". He got me in touch with others whom I could support and who could support me.

    I was given renewed hope and will stand tall for what is right and speak out for what is wrong. I will remain a proponent of the patient's (and their surrogates') right to make their own decision about their End of Life Care and of the physician's duty to abide by that decision. I will also remain a proponent of a patient's right to a dignified and comfortable death, without fear, anxiety and/or pain. That is the law and I followed the law, despite accusations to the contrary.  

    With the support of the Center, Richard Willner and my lawyers, I am confident that justice (or some semblance thereof) will prevail. If my accusers win, Critical Care, End of Life Care (including Hospice Care) will be set back decades and patients will once again SUFFER death.

    (http://aaps.forums.practicenotes.com/forums/Index.cfm?Message_ID=60097


    "I admire your diligence and commitment to this very important area. While you may not receive the thanks you obviously deserve, I am certain that there is many a health professional who has benefited from your dedication.

    One day, all of us that are committed to this very important issue where medicine and law converge will celebrate HCQIA's being amended to mandate constitutional due process and move the burden of persuasion from the physicians to the Hospitals. We are only one Supreme Court case away.

    Keep up the good work.

    South Carolina Lawyer (name available upon request)

    Remember, great is your reward in heaven"


    Sept 25, 2003 Post to Forum - "The director of the Sham Peer Review Organization, actually a podiatrist, has demonstrated absolutely enormous accomplishments that are now changing the very face of MD, DO, DDS and DPM peer review!"


    Sept 26, 2003 Post to Forum - "If you are ever unfortunate enough to be exposed to a peer review situation, you will thank God every day for the work and accomplishments of Richard Willner."


    05/03/03

    J. Swift
    Before Rich got involved there was a media blackout on sham peer review. HIPPA is not much different.

    Now people are beginning to realize that institutional peer review is another name for corporate pseudoscience and mis-accounting practices. The future holds great promise for the Center and its sincere and indefatigable founder, Rich Willner. I am glad to be his friend. I can count on one hand how many people i have met in life that have the same level of commitment to a just and noble cause.  



    05/03/03
    L. R. Bailey MD

    I must agree with Dr. Snioff
    (see below) about Rich and the CPRJ. Sadly many of the lessons that are taught, there always seemed to be something learned the hard way by those who refuse to listen. It is difficult for physicians who are accustomed to solving problems to accept that some problems cannot be "solved". Society thinks that everything that everything can be settled in court. That just absolutely is not true and the courts seem to make things worse and definitely more expensive!! If you are having peer review problems, listen to Rich and pay lip service to the attorneys.  


    03/19/03

    I wanted to comment about how invaluable is the Center for Peer Review Justice(CPRJ).

    In June 2000 the following dubious "review" by physicians, non of whom were in my specialty, my employment was terminated and my career amputated. There was little advice of information anywhere. I was stunned and bewildered.

    Some months later I became aware of Dr. Richard Willner and then the fledging Center for Peer Review Justice. Rich had become involved in the case or Dr. Brian Gale, a podiatrist in North Dakota, and Rich was just beginning to learn the ropes.

    Since then, he has devoted himself tirelessly, and at great personal cost, to those unjustly wronged. As far as i am aware, he has never refused advice or assistance, even though he did this without payment. Over the years, Rich has developed foremost knowledge asnd expertise of the whole peer review process. I believe that he has become aware of over 2,300 cases in the last three years, where the motives ad performance of a peer review have malice, bias and incompetence.

    At present, the CPRJ has an impressive website (PeerReview.org), with an expanding list of cases and opinions, as well as a panel of legal experts who have extensive experience in representing physicians who are victims of a sham peer review. There is an evolving modus operandi on how to mount a defense, as well as a campaign to expose the abuse of peer review to a wide public.

    I would urge any physician who is a victim of such abuse to contact Rich at info@peerreview.org  for assistance. I would also urge any organization, such as the AAPS, to support the Center financially, as Rich cannot continue to bear the cost from his own pocket.

    Clive Sinoff



    Date: February 01, 2002 11:54 PM
    Author: Brian Gale (brian@BrianGale.com )

    Subject: I have the scars of a Sham Peer Review

    I have been fighting a battle since 1993. Some say they would have given up a long time ago. Others say I'm lucky that I still have my home and my clinic although payments on everything are always late. I've also been told that I'm lucky I've only spent about $500k or so even though it translates into several million down the road.

    Thanks to Rich Willner and a few other friends and relatives I'm still alive and kicking. There are some extremely important rules about going up against hospitals and boards; the faster someone accepts them as fact, the better chance they have of prevailing.

    Rich Willner is without a doubt the number one expert in the United States on this subject. I know that's saying a lot but I have spent hundreds of hours speaking to him and we have exchanged somewhere in the range of thousands of emails.

    He reads every case he can get his hands on and understands how the evil system works. Most of our conversations lately have been about people who are spending hundreds of thousands on lawyers who don't have a clue what they're doing. When a lawyer calls Rich, Rich can give them the legal cases they need to try to make a difference.

    Rich is worth his weight in gold and then some when it comes to someone who has been abused as some of us have. Just take a look at www.briangale.com. The web site was Rich's idea. At first my wife and I really hesitated because I was in the process of cashing in my entire retirement (not that it was that big) as well as our kids colleges savings, just to be able to pay some bills. Reluctantly we went along with it and it has been given us a tremendous return on our very small investment.

    The web site literally neutralized a lot of the "evil doers" as President Bush calls them. There is no time to fight back and get on the offensive because all of the shammed person's time is spent on the defensive side.

    I spent 8 years and now I have finally managed to have almost all of the members of our state board that shammed me replaced. I did this only with the help of Rich Willner.

    For those of you who read this and are in a similar predicament; join the Center for Peer Review Justice. It was the ONLY thing I did in the past 8 years that saved me.

    I'm not out of this mess yet but I'm in better shape now than I have ever been. I understand the system and the players. Now I tell my lawyer what he needs to do and how to handle things after Rich and I have extensive discussions about it. My lawyer is still involved and has the final say about what he will and won't do and everything that is done is legal; whether the lawyer(s) know about it or not.

    These people (shammers) take very little time to do one thing that creates years of pain, suffering and nightmares for us and our families. Depression is a given for all of us. At times we are paralyzed emotionally and physically so we are too weak to fight back. We try to hold our families together because they are the most precious commodity we have and that takes so much time and energy that there is nothing left.

    Rich Willner has given me hope. He has been the "equalizer" for me. Why did he get involved? Because he loves a challenge and he couldn't believe that the things I posted publicly on another forum could be true. When he did his own investigation a few years ago, he began opening up the world of sham peer review.

    As bad as things are and have been I still have many things to be thankful for. I am alive, I have my health. For some reason I still have my wife (many leave for obvious reasons) and little girls too. Many of us who have been shammed are not as lucky as me. If I could take all the pain my wife has endured away and put it inside me because of what I have been put through I would gladly take it from her.

    In simple terms the answer is networking and fighting back. Think of it as the ultimate challenge of your life. There are no rules except for the one's the shammers make up as they go. You have nothing to lose because your (my) life has been destroyed professionally. Take it on as if it becomes your only mission in life. "Take no prisoners." You have to pull out every bit of passion you can muster and keep pushing on.

    The first step is to contact Rich AND do what he says; take his advice. We have to begin aggressively helping each other. A huge advantage that Rich gives us is that he can get a number of reviews for anyone at any given time from authoritative leaders in the specialty field of his choice. If anyone needs my help I'm available. This is not a fight that can be won with just the lawyers through the courts. That's what they want us to do is go through the legal process. It doesn't cost them a penny while it breaks us and our families.

    Call me any time to talk or for advice.

    Brian Gale, DPM, FACFAS 701-255-3338 clinic 701-202-1885 cellular 701-223-8841 home

    (http://aaps.forums.commentary.net/forums/Index.cfm?Message_ID=54096)


    Observation  by Member

    Members suggest reasonable changes

  • Web Site Links

    Organizational Sites
    America's Medical Society our newest partner also on
    War on Doctors - There has been a battle pursuing doctors for years. Now it seems to be on all fronts
    Peer Review Solutions  addresses solutions for the problem
    Medical Student Loans -   resource site for those dealing with medical student loans
    HCQIA - Health Care Quality Act - Learn how it impacts your practice of medicine, and how it can be abused
    The Disruptive Physician's Center -  Offers guidance and support to those who have been labeled "disruptive"
    Association of American Physicians  and Surgeons
    Electronic Frontier Foundation -  Federal Court Upholds Anonymous Speech on Internet
    Institute for Safe Medical Practices - follow for discussion of medical errors

    Defining the terms-- (more listed in Members Only section)

    Definition of Professional Misconduct
    Peer Review Principals - general concept of peer review- multi-disciplinary
    Additional Definition of Professional Misconduct, Limited Application
    (CA) Background Paper on Medical Peer Review - defines "805 report"
    Requirements for the Dr Expert Witness

    Legal/Judicial (more listed in Members Only section)

    Links for Legal Research - includes legal precedents
    Heath Hippo: Quality Assurance - US Statutes and Administrative Codes

    Databank Lists of Medical Professionals -(more listed in Members Only section)

    Professional Misconduct and Physician Discipline - goes back 10 years with monthly summaries (note many of the physicians on these list live and worked in many states other than NY - over 12,000 disciplined physicians are listed)
    Federation of State Boards  - docinfo.org
    National Practitioner Data Baset

    National Practitioner Data Base Fact Sheet

    GETTING A NEW JOB.

    THERE IS A LOT OF EXTRA WORK NECESSARY TO GET A NEW JOB AFTER A SHAM PEER REVIEW AND DATA BANKING.  THE CENTER FOR PEER REVIEW JUSTICE MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP YOU WITH HEADHUNTING, CREDENTIALING, DATABANK REPAIR, GETTING MALPRACTICE INSURANCE OR A LOWER RATE,  ETC.

    If you have been unfairly "Databanked" please call our President at  504-621-1670.  Perhaps there is action that you can take.   


    Physician Victims of Sham Peer Review - (more listed in Members Only section)

    Dr. Brian Gale (link to his website 2002) - podiatrist in North Dakota. It's bad news when your competition "owns" the State Board of your specialty. A Peer Review Justice client that has his license back and is catching up on his bills.....he also unseated most of the state board and changed the state statutes! I have the scars of a sham peer review!
    Oct 17, 2006 - Jay Schindler, MD, a neurosurgeon, won a major victory today when the Defendants Motion for Summary Judgment under HCQIA was DENIED (as to the relevant parties) today in his federal lawsuit in Wisconsin.

    Jay is a really credible, honest and driven physician. Patient care is his passion in life and he was frankly a victim of his own success, being shammed only because he was more efficient and productive than his competitors. His ouster was based essentially on a single complicated case. He and his wife Jean have fought courageously against the powerful defendants in his case and today it paid off. 2012 update - he moved to a different state and has a successful practice there.
    Dr. Steven Dilsaver - Outstanding psychiatrist wishes to return to his home state of California to practice medicine and is placed on severe probation in spite of begin licensed in several other states and being a widely recognized researcher and author of many journal articles in the field of psychiatry. No malpractice cases, no criminal charges; just the stigma of admitting to a prior treatment for a mental illness over 5 years ago.
    Dr. Philip J Leonard  - NEVER place a bottle of lidocaine or keep a cell phone in your pants pocket. Info at www.philipleonard.com and www.thankyoudrleonard.com
    Transcripts from TSMBE Temporary Suspension Hearing
    Dr. Pat Herrera - An Alabama physician receives an inquiry on his prescriptions for pain killers from an insurance company, at the same time that two teenagers (who had no relationship to Dr Herrera) die of an overdose. A media feeding frenzy results. The state board shows it's muscle by revoking Herrera's license. A judge has demanded reinstatement...but the board has not given up...his can practice medicine can't write prescriptions! Link to his old website.   
    2012 update - his license has been reinstated and he has chosen to alter the focus of his practice to a different specialty.
    Subtle retaliation continue.
    Dr. Lorraine Martinez - a temporary hospital suspension escalates out of control for a New Mexico obstetrician/gynecologist. 2012 update - she moved to a different state and has a successful practice there.
    Lydia Grotti, MD- 8/22/2003 Temporary Win! (Follow Link for story)
    Details of her case the fight continues
    Laura Crafton, MD - Dr Crafton was Shammed Peer Reviewed when she had a contract dispute with the Hospital. Laura was particularly well loved as she ministered to the spiritual needs of her patients as well. Dr Crafton has never been sued for malpractice in her entire long career!! Dr Crafton's name is included in the National Practitioner Data Bank and can no longer practice Medicine. Think Laura is a "Bad Doc"? Please read on... Due process is often ignored. A multitude of careers and lives have been destroyed by the abuse of the system.
    Robert Weitzel, MD, Psychiatrist - Utah pain physician charged with murder;
    When he asked, Dr. Weitzel was told he was being investigated because he was "a psychiatrist prescribing opiates". follow link for his website
    Featured in 60 minutes
    Dr James ThompsonHCA whistleblower
    Annelle Blanchard, MD, Peer Reviewed To Death !! 
    Dr Ron Virmani - a OB-GYN claims he faced racial discrimination in the peer review process and can't have access to 20 years of peer review records to prove his case.
    Clive Sinoff M.D -  an oncologist in Cleveland, Ohio. Even now, Dr. Sinoff is wading through the mine field of "peer review."
    Roland Chalifoux,MD, - Dallas Texas, Neurosurgeon Featured in Due Process or Personal Assassination - more info in the Members only section
    Robert J. Sinaiko, M.D - under investigation and prosecution by the California Medical Board, primarily because they challenge his right to engage in decisions about care grounded in clinical experience, academic research and framed by a thorough informed consent procedure. At the heart of their complaint was his use of the allergy treatment approach now widely preferred in England, Enzyme Potentiated Desensitization (EPD). While safer, more effective, more efficient and ultimately more economical, the Medical Board challenged my right as an allergist to have access to this treatment. 
    Dr David Odom - Fairbanks, Alaska anesthesiologist- won in the courts in April but the hospital continues to fight back...( complaints began when he started to form a free-standing outpatient surgical center.)
    Dr Lawrence Bailey
    Dr Nancy Lynn Rogers - Louisiana neurosurgeon feels like she's caught in a Dukes of Hazard episode- unfortunately it's real! - she was told that she cannot practice at the local community hospital because she was a disruptive bitch. She faced gender discrimination issues.
    Dr. Margaret Nordell
    Dr. Carl Bernofsky -  Tulane's discrimination, defamation, and retaliation Against Jewish Professor of Medicine Asserted in wrongful termination and subsequent lawsuits
    Dr. Sundar Nilavar - "My only crime was being very vocal advocate of quality issues in patient care and refuse to dance to the tune of Administration, I told them orally & in writing that I will try to do the best I can to my patients (as if they are my family) without regard to interest of Hosp Administration or HMOs or any other bottom line oriented pencil pushers!"
    Dr. Martin Goldman -Jackson County Circuit Judge John Moran found that the hospital denied due process to Dr. Martin Goldman, the head of Truman's radiology department, when it sought to remove him in December 1997.
    Bahram Zamanian, M.D - cardiologist in New Orleans, LA. Note the discussion of bad faith peer review and the law in the legal opinion from the circuit court of appeals.
    John Minarcik, MD - a Florida pathologist who was jumped on by a large hospital chain. Even though the courts backed him, the hospital just won't quit!
    David A. Shaller, M.D. contested his dismissal from the Veterans Administration after he protested substandard care of patients on ventilators by persons untrained in same.
    Dr. Stephen W. Smith, US Army - Stephen Smith took on the entire Army. And even though he "won" they continue to take potshots. For detailed info visit his website.
    Tai-Min Chen MD - Suspension; Fort Wayne, IN April 27, 2000
    P.V. Patel, MD - Midland, Texas cardiologist
    Dr Patton
    Dr Conner (California) -Conner was denied reappointment to Salina following a peer review panel recommended against the reappointment. The district court said it was private and there were no federal grounds
    Pankaj Desai, MD - New York plastic surgeon decided to expand his practice; competition went into attack mode
    More Tales of bad faith or "sham" peer review - growing list...EPIDEMIC
    "Peer Review Can Be Deadly"

    New sub-committees are being formed:

    • OB - GYN's - most common peer reviewed
    • General Surgery -  2nd most common peer reviewed
    • Pain Specialists and Pain Clinics -  Pain Issues
    • Geographical issues - a number of state medical boards are on the warpath - we have battle experience in many states including Texas, California, Arizona, North Dakota, Alabama, Louisiana, Alabama among others....
    • Discriminatory Issues from healthcare regulation - if a medical practitioner does not follow every mandated regulation, not only will he/she not get paid but may have their license suspended.
    if you are interested in joining any of these, email your interest to info@peerreview.org

    Members ONLY 

    Access OUR Resources- Network with Fellow Victims of Sham Peer Review

    To Join, Please contact info@PeerReview.org 


    The FIRST  thing to do when Sham Peer Reviewed,
    Summary Suspended or
    when you get a Letter from your State Medical Board


     
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