Establishes the category of "qualified group practice" for medical, dental and podiatric practices that comply with certain standards

Title of bill

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to qualified group practices

Purpose or general idea of bill

would provide that a medical, dental or podiatric group practice that operates a malpractice prevention program that meets same standards of a hospital malpractice prevention program will have the same confidentiality and immunity protections.

Summary of specific provisions

a new section 2998-f would provide that a qualified group practice may operate a malpractice prevention program directly, or through a collaborative arrangement with a hospital or accountable care organization, and share confidential information for the purpose of peer review and quality improvement.

Justification

Group practices have become the norm for physicians, dentists and podiatrists and range in size from small groups to large organizations with hundreds of practitioners. As groups have grown in size and sophistication, assuring quality of quality of care is no longer solely the obligation of an individual provider, but rather a group obligation to review outcomes and collaborate on improvements as a unified team.

Public Health Law § 2805-j requires every general hospital to maintain a malpractice prevention program that meet specific requirements. PHL § 2805-m protects the confidentiality of information, materials, documentation, actions and statements relating to such program, including peer review committee information (with exceptions), and protects participants from liability. Education Law § 6527.3 restates this protection. In 2011, the Legislature granted accountable care organizations similar authority by deeming them to be a "hospital" solely for purposes of malpractice prevention programs under PHL § 2805-m and Education Law § 6527.3. See PHL § 2999-r.

The rationale for protecting the confidentiality of peer review information was explained by the NYS Court of Appeals in Logue v. Velez, 92 NY2d 13 (1998): "...The purpose of the discovery exclusion is to 'enhance the objectivity of the review process' and to assure that medical review committees 'may and objectively analyze the quality of health services rendered' by hospitals...."

That same rationale should apply to a medical, dental or podiatric group practice that establishes a malpractice prevention program that meets standards set forth in PHL § 2805-j(a)-(g): (a) a quality assurance committee; (b) sanction procedures; (c) review of credentials and competence; (d) prompt resolution of patient grievances; (e) collection of information about negative outcomes, premiums, settlements, awards, etc.; (e) procedural recordkeeping; (g) education programs on patient safety, injury prevention, etc. Elsewhere, nearly half of states protect the confidentiality of peer review activities by medical group practices other than hospitals.

This bill will encourage group practices to meet these rigorous standards and improve patient care. PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New bill

Fiscal implications

None

Effective date

Immediately