The first documented description of a peer review process is found in the Ethics of the Physician written by Ishap bin Ali al-Rahawi (854-931) of al-Raha, Syria, who describes the first medical peer review process.
Medical audit, which remains the predominant mode of peer review in Europe, is a focused study of the process and/or outcomes of care for a specified patient cohort using pre-defined criteria, focused on a diagnosis, procedure or clinical situation [REF].