Five Practical Ways to Get Peer Review in Isolated Medical Practice

How to stay connected, reflective, and compliant—even when you work alone

Peer review is one of the most valuable components of a doctor’s Continuing Professional Development. It’s an opportunity to step outside the blur of your everyday practice and gain insight into your clinical decisions, processes, communication and reasoning. For many doctors, though, peer review can seem out of reach—particularly those working in solo or isolated practice.

You might be a private specialist in a stand-alone clinic. Perhaps you’re a rural GP with no other colleagues on site. Maybe you work in a non-clinical or telehealth-based role, where there’s no one to lean over your shoulder. These settings can make peer review feel impractical, but it doesn’t have to be.

There are several flexible and creative ways to engage in meaningful peer review—even if you're the only doctor in the building. The following five methods are not only suitable for Reviewing Performance CPD hours, they’re also achievable and professionally enriching.

1. Zoom-Based Peer Observation

One of the simplest ways to bring a peer into your practice is via secure videoconference. With a bit of planning, a trusted colleague can observe you consulting with patients, leading a case discussion, or teaching junior staff. This works particularly well in telehealth-based practices, but can also be applied to in-person consultations using a laptop or device in the room.

Before you begin, you must obtain clear, informed consent from the patient. The patient should be told exactly who will be observing, why they’re present, how their privacy will be protected, and that they are free to decline. It’s good practice to make a note of this consent in the clinical record.

The observer should be in a private, quiet space, preferably wearing headphones to prevent others from hearing patient information. No recording should be made unless separately and specifically consented to. It’s also essential to use a secure, encrypted platform—something with healthcare-grade security features or a paid business version of Zoom or Teams. Avoid public links, and use waiting rooms or passcodes to manage access.

A session doesn’t have to be long. Even observing two or three consultations or a teaching segment can provide valuable feedback on communication, clinical reasoning or rapport. After the session, you can debrief with your peer and reflect on their feedback—this conversation can be just as valuable as the observation itself.

2. Video or Audio Recording for Peer Feedback

If live observation is difficult to arrange, recorded footage can be a powerful alternative. Recording a consultation, procedure, or patient education session allows you to share your practice with a peer asynchronously. This is especially useful for proceduralists, GPs, or educators who want feedback on communication, technique, or clarity.

However, this approach carries serious privacy obligations. You must gain the patient’s explicit and informed written consent before recording. The patient must understand why the recording is being made, who will see or hear it, how it will be stored, and what will happen to it afterward. It’s not enough to mention it in passing—formal documentation is essential, and indemnity providers or colleges often have templates you can use.

Security is critical. Never store recordings on personal devices or free consumer cloud services. Use encrypted platforms designed for health information, and restrict access only to those involved in the peer review. De-identify the footage where possible—blur faces, mask names, or focus the camera only on the clinician. Once the peer review is complete, delete the recording unless ongoing consent has been given for storage or reuse.

This method allows for high-quality, detailed feedback. A peer can pause and rewind, offer comments at specific moments, and focus on particular aspects of your performance. It also creates a useful learning archive, allowing you to track changes or improvements over time.

3. Case-Based Feedback Through Email or Shared Documents

Sometimes, the best way to reflect on your practice is to write about it. Preparing a de-identified case summary and sending it to a peer for review is a highly flexible option. It allows you to reflect deeply as you write, and invites specific, focused feedback from your colleague.

This method is ideal for complex, ethically challenging, or emotionally difficult cases. You might ask for input on whether your approach was reasonable, how you could have communicated differently, or how your management aligned with current best practice.

Your peer’s feedback doesn’t need to be lengthy. Even a few thoughtful paragraphs can help clarify your thinking. The key is to document what you shared, what feedback you received, and what learning or change you took from it. A short reflective summary added to your CPD log is often sufficient for Reviewing Performance hours.

Because no patient-identifiable information is shared, this method is generally lower risk from a privacy standpoint. However, you should still be careful to remove dates, locations, or contextual clues that could make the patient identifiable, especially in rare or unusual cases, and you should share these documents using an encrypted platform.

4. Virtual Peer Groups or Journal Clubs

For those feeling professionally isolated, a small virtual group of peers can be a game-changer. Meeting online every month or two to discuss clinical cases, recent evidence, or shared challenges offers rich opportunities for peer review. These sessions can be informal or structured, but the key is reflection and exchange.

Your group might include former colleagues, doctors you trained with, or members of an online professional network. Even peers from other specialties can offer fresh insight, particularly in areas like communication, uncertainty, or team coordination.

A common approach is for one doctor to present a recent case or theme—perhaps something that was difficult, surprising, or where things didn’t go as expected. The group can then explore the case together, ask questions, and offer feedback. Everyone benefits from the discussion, and it creates a sense of collegiality and accountability that many isolated practitioners lack.

It’s important to document your participation. Keep a log of the dates, topics discussed, and any reflections or changes you made to your practice based on what you learned.

5. Reciprocal Peer Review Partnerships

If a group feels too formal or time-consuming, you might consider pairing up with just one other doctor—someone in a similar field, even interstate. You can agree to review each other’s work at regular intervals, perhaps by email, phone, or video call, or in person.

Each month, you might exchange one case, a summary of your prescribing trends, or even a few discharge summaries. Your partner reads through the material, offers feedback, and you return the favour. This creates a rhythm of mutual support and professional reflection, with the benefit of growing trust over time.

It’s a simple but powerful model, particularly for GPs, private specialists, or clinicians in emerging roles like telehealth or non-clinical leadership. And because you’re reviewing each other, it’s balanced, informal, and easy to sustain.

As always, if clinical information is shared, ensure that it is appropriately de-identified and that no sensitive or identifying patient data is exchanged without formal consent.

A Final Word on Privacy and Professionalism

All forms of peer review that involve patient information—whether spoken, written, observed, or recorded—must be approached with care. Before starting any of the methods outlined above, check the relevant privacy laws in your state or territory, and ensure your approach complies with the Privacy Act 1988, Ahpra’s code of conduct, and any applicable health records legislation.

Consent is not a checkbox—it is a conversation. Patients deserve to know how their information will be used, who will see it, and that they can say no without consequence. It’s your responsibility to document this clearly and to treat that trust with respect.

Reflective, Responsible and Possible

Even in isolated practice, peer review is not only achievable—it can be deeply rewarding. These five methods are designed to fit around your reality. Whether you're in a solo clinic, a rural hospital, or a virtual service, your practice can still be reviewed, enriched, and supported by your peers.

Osler offers tools to help: logbooks, templates, community forums, and secure systems for documenting and storing CPD activities. If you’re unsure where to start, reach out—we're here to help you connect.

Peer review isn’t about ticking a box. It’s about becoming the kind of doctor you’d want for your own family. And you don’t have to do it alone.