Peer review of health services consists of an evaluation in which practicing physicians or other health professionals assess the quality of health care delivered by another health professional. Typically, the subject and the reviewer have comparable levels of training, credentials, and experience. Care is evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and quality determination usually involves a degree of professional judgment. The process of peer review purports to measure quality, though, historically, most systematic, large-scale peer review efforts have had poor reliability. Modern methods of health care quality assessment employ objective performance indicators and statistical inference to measure practitioners' performance in comparison with evidencebased practice guidelines.

CHARLES P. SCHADE

(SEE ALSO: Continuous Quality Assessment; Continuous Quality Improvement)