Mediation and Peer Review Advisory Team (MPRAT)
Committee Purpose:
- Provide a service to CDS members who reside within the CDS boundaries for disputes filed against member dentists (effective June 8, 2023).
- Per the State of Illinois Dental Practice Act, “While serving upon any Peer Review Committee, any dentist shall not be liable for civil damages as a result of his or her decision, findings, or recommendations involving his or her willful or wanton misconduct.”
Structure and Composition
This Advisory Team will be a member committee comprised of dentists from each branch, providing both Mediation and Peer Review functions for their respective branches. Volunteers are typically asked to serve multiple terms due to the confidential and sensitive nature of the Program.
This Advisory Team will be a member committee comprised of dentists from each branch, providing both Mediation and Peer Review functions for their respective branches. Volunteers are typically asked to serve multiple terms due to the confidential and sensitive nature of the Program.
Annually, the CDS President will appoint the Chair. Additionally, each Branch Director will appoint two (2) branch representatives for a total of nineteen (19) committee members.
Committee Goals
GOALS (Mediation):
- Respond promptly to any assigned cases, ensuring that no case remains unresolved for an extended period.
- Review patient complaints and serve as a mediator, providing solutions that benefit both the patient and the dentist.
- Refer the case to a peer review when mediation attempts fail to resolve the issue.
- Refrain from attributing blame to the parties involved.
GOALS (Peer Review):
- Adhere to the guidelines outlined in the ISDS Peer Review Manual, which is required as a constituent of the Illinois State Dental Society.
- Evaluate cases referred from unresolved mediation attempts or by the CDS Ethics and Special Issues Committee.
- Assign the case to the impartial team members from the members’ branch for a peer review hearing.
- Conduct the peer review hearing in a completely impartial manner and address the specific details of the case.
- Be sure to avoid generalities or other clinical issues that were not raised in the complaint.
- Provide recommendations for the parties involved.
- Make sure both parties understand that, while this recommendation is not legally binding, the hearing panel might offer its opinion on an appropriate resolution based on the facts provided.
Committee Members:
| Chair | Dr. David Behm |
| Branch Rep Kenwood Hyde Park, 2026 | Dr. Kimberley Bolden |
| Branch Rep Kenwood Hyde Park, 2027 | Dr. Melanie Watson |
| Branch Rep North Side, 2026 | Dr. Richard Leyba |
| Branch Rep North Side, 2027 | Dr. Lee Braam |
| Branch Rep Northwest Side, 2026 | Dr. Chester Klos |
| Branch Rep Northwest Side, 2027 | Dr. Jeffrey Wittmus |
| Branch Rep South Suburban, 2026 | Dr. W. Brent Stanford |
| Branch Rep West Side, 2026 | Dr. Shafa AmirSoltani |
| Branch Rep West Side, 2027 | Dr. Carol Everett |
| Branch Rep West Suburban, 2027 | Dr. Michael Subtelny |
| CDS Staff Liaison | Ms. Joanne Girardi |
