Program formerly known as Utilization and Quality Control Peer Review Organization (PRO) that is designed to review cases to determine appropriateness, medical necessity, and quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries. It consists of groups of practicing doctors and other health care experts. They are paid by the federal government to check and improve the care given to Medicare patients. They must review the patients’ complaints about the quality of care given by inpatient hospitals, hospital outpatient departments, hospital emergency departments, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, private fee-for-service plans, and ambulatory surgical centers.