What's happening
This bill strengthens confidentiality protections for medical peer review and quality assurance proceedings and penalizes lack of cooperation in such programs.
Why it matters
Expands and clarifies confidentiality protections. for records and testimony from medical peer review, quality assurance, and incident reporting meetings—making it harder for these materials to be subpoenaed or used in lawsuits, except under very limited circumstances.
Closes a loophole. that previously allowed parties involved in lawsuits to be compelled to testify about what occurred in confidential peer review meetings. The new language ensures all attendees’ statements remain protected, even if they are parties to related actions.
Creates a new professional misconduct category. for healthcare professionals who fail to cooperate or participate in good faith in required peer review, incident reporting, or quality assurance programs, making non-cooperation subject to disciplinary action.
By strengthening confidentiality and requiring participation, the bill promotes more honest and robust internal review of medical incidents, which could lead to improved patient safety and health care quality—while also protecting providers from legal exposure for participating in these processes.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Protect Peer Review Testimony
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
8 Co-sponsors
4 Multi-sponsors
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Protect Peer Review Testimony
In Senate Committee · Health · Sponsor Gustavo Rivera
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1165
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 14, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. GOTTFRIED, DINOWITZ, GALEF, PAULIN, JAFFEE, GUNTHER, COLTON, QUART, D'URSO -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. CARROLL, COOK, ORTIZ, PERRY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law and the education law, in relation to quality assurance and peer review activities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 2805-m of the public health law, as amended by chapter 808 of the laws of 1987, is amended to read as follows:
2. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, none of the records, documentation or committee actions or records required pursuant to sections twenty-eight hundred five-j and twenty-eight hundred five-k of this article, the reports required pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred five-l of this article nor any incident reporting requirements imposed upon diagnostic and treatment centers pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to disclosure under article six of the public officers law or article thirty-one of the civil practice law and rules, except as hereinafter provided or as provided by any other provision of law. No person in attendance at a meeting of any such committee shall be required to testify as to what transpired thereat. [The] Furthermore, the prohibition relating to discovery of testimony shall [not] apply to the statements made by any person in attendance at such a meeting who is a party to an action or proceeding the subject matter of which was reviewed at such meeting.
§ 2. The closing paragraph of subdivision 3 of section 6527 of the education law, as amended by chapter 257 of the laws of 1987, is amended to read as follows:
Neither the proceedings nor the records relating to performance of a medical or a quality assurance review function or participation in a
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03364-01-9
A. 1165 2
medical and dental malpractice prevention program nor any report required by the department of health pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred five-l of the public health law described herein, including the investigation of an incident reported pursuant to section 29.29 of the mental hygiene law, shall be subject to disclosure under article thirty-one of the civil practice law and rules except as hereinafter provided or as provided by any other provision of law. No person in attendance at a meeting when a medical or a quality assurance review or a medical and dental malpractice prevention program or an incident reporting function described herein was performed, including the investigation of an incident reported pursuant to section 29.29 of the mental hygiene law, shall be required to testify as to what transpired thereat. [The] Furthermore, the prohibition relating to discovery of testimony shall [not] apply to the statements made by any person in attendance at such a meeting who is a party to an action or proceeding the subject matter of which was reviewed at such meeting.
§ 3. Section 6530 of the education law is amended by adding a new subdivision 50 to read as follows:
50. Failure to cooperate and participate, reasonably and in good faith, in the quality assurance, incident reporting, and peer review programs, activities, requirements and procedures covered by the confidentiality provisions of section twenty-eight hundred five-m of the public health law or clause (a), (b), (d) or (e) of subdivision three of section sixty-five hundred twenty-seven of this title.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.