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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico Supreme Court ruling says doctors can sue if they're fired or suffer other "adverse employment consequences" from participating in quality-of-care reviews of other doctors.
The justices' recent ruling stemmed from a Roswell hospital's firing of a physician after he participated in a peer-review process for another doctor who also worked for the hospital, the Eastern New Mexico Medical Center.
The hospital said Dr. Emre Yedidag (YA'-duh-dag) engaged in unprofessional conduct by being overly confrontational during the review.
The doctor denied doing that, sued and won a jury verdict that the hospital violated his employment contract and a state law requiring that peer reviews be kept confidential.
The hospital appealed but the Supreme Court ruled for the doctor, saying he was entitled to protections under the peer-review law.
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