In a ruling one attorney called “the most significant health care decision” to be made in years, the state Supreme Court has agreed with a doctor’s request to obtain the audiotape from a peer-review proceeding.

The doctor’s reasons for wanting the tape led the unanimous court to rule in his favor. He claimed certain members of the review organization with ulterior motives fiddled with the wording of a recommendation to terminate his suspension, having a detrimental effect on his record.