Consequences for Whistleblowing: Retaliation, Sham Peer Review and Hospital Immunity

When medical professionals, usually physicians, report poor patient care or incidents in which patients have been harmed, such reports are sometimes not welcomed by hospital leadership. This issue becomes even more problematic if no action is taken internally to ameliorate patient conditions and the practitioner then decides to seek external assistance (courts, media) in the best interest of the patients’ wellbeing.