01172nas a2200145   4500000000100000008004100001260001500042100002200057245007700079856005300156300001400209490000800223520078100231022001401012       1990                            d  c1990-03-091 aDavid F. Horrobin00aThe Philosophical Basis of Peer Review and the Suppression of Innovation  uhttps://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1990.03440100162024  a1438-14410 v2633 aPeer review can be performed successfully only if those involved have a clear idea as to its fundamental purpose. Most authors of articles on the subject assume that the purpose of peer review is quality control. This is an inadequate answer. The fundamental purpose of peer review in the biomedical sciences must be consistent with that of medicine itself, to cure sometimes, to relieve often, to comfort always. Peer review must therefore aim to facilitate the introduction into medicine of improved ways of curing, relieving, and comforting patients. The fulfillment of this aim requires both quality control and the encouragement of innovation. If an appropriate balance between the two is lost, then peer review will fail to fulfill its purpose.(JAMA. 1990;263:1438-1441)  a0098-7484