Peer review is an important part of any profession that requires a high degree of competence. If a nurses conduct or actions are questioned, they may be subjected to an incident-based peer review (IBPR), the outcome of which will be reported to the Texas Board of Nursing (BON). An IBPR is initiated by an agency, facility, school, association or any other entity that uses the services of the nurse who is to be peer-reviewed. Show Purpose of IBPR and the Role of the IBPR CommitteeThe purpose of an IBPR is to determine whether a nurse should be reported to the Texas Board of Nursing (BON) for professional misconduct or licensure violations based on one or more such events. It is not done to determine issues related to employment. An employer may take disciplinary action against a nurse employee before, after and regardless of the status of a peer review. In case a report to the BON has already been made (or is already required to be made), the role of the review committee will be to investigate whether external factors caused the error or situation leading to the report, and to report the findings of the review to the entitys patient safety committee, or to the nursing administrator if such a committee doesnt exist. Due Process RequirementsIBPR cannot be done randomly and without giving prior notice to the nurse who is being peer-reviewed. At the minimum, the following due process requirements must be fulfilled:
Who is subject to IBPR?Temporary or contract nurses are also subject to IBPR. The review is initiated by either the facility that uses their services or by the compensating agency, or both. There is much more to IBPR for nurses than can be covered in this short article. It is best to hire a skilled and experienced health attorney if you are involved in any peer review processes. What does the IBPR Committees report to the Texas BON include?If an IBPR Committee determines that a nurse engaged in conduct that deserves to be reported to the Texas BON, they must submit a written report that includes the following:
The IBPR committee has no authority to enforce their decisions, and employers are not required to follow the recommendations of the IBPR. However, employers can and may choose to utilize the outcome of the review to bolster their case for or against a nurse on their payroll whose conduct or actions have been questioned. Pre-Review SeparationIf a nurse resigns voluntarily, or is terminated or is suspended for seven days or more for reasons related to nursing care, then her/his employer must submit a written report identifying her/him and describing the events or incidents that led to the resignation, termination or suspension to the Texas BON. Even after a report has been made (or is required to be made) by the employer, the review committee is still required to carry out a hearing to find out if external factors impacted the nurses conduct and then report their findings to the concerned authority. Peer Review for Temporary or Contract NursesTemporary or contract nurses are also subject to IBPR. The review is initiated by either the facility that uses their services or by the compensating agency, or both.There is much more to IBPR for nurses than can be covered in this short article. It is best to hirea skilled and experienced health attorneyif you are involved in any peer review processes. |