NY State Senate Bill 2019-S1800

Senate Bill S1800

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Prohibits disclosure of testimony of a party to a health care quality assurance or peer review proceeding

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to health
Jan 16, 2019	referred to health

2019-S1800 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A1165
Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §2805-m, Pub Health L; amd §§6527 & 6530, Ed L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: S2821, A1596
2011-2012: S1207, A590
2013-2014: S2071, A3138
2015-2016: S4698, A3353
2017-2018: S3661, A2460

2019-S1800 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits the disclosure and discovery of the testimony of a party to a health care quality assurance or peer review proceeding; further adds the failure to cooperate and participate in the quality assurance, reporting, activities, requirements and procedures covered under such discovery to the definition of professional misconduct.

2019-S1800 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S1800

SPONSOR: RIVERA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law and the education law, in relation
to quality assurance and peer review activities

 
PURPOSE:

To extend the confidentiality provisions relating to discovery of testi-
mony to statements made, by any person in attendance at peer review
committees who is a party to an action or proceeding the subject matter
of which was reviewed during peer review committee meetings.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one and two of this bill amend § 2805-m of the Public Health Law
and § 6527 of the Education Law to extend the confidentiality provisions
relating to discovery of testimony to apply to statements made by any
person in attendance at peer review committee meetings who is a party to

an action or proceeding the subject matter of which was reviewed at such
meeting.

Section three adds a new subdivision 50 to § 6530 of the Education Law.
The new subdivision adds, to those activities which may constitute
professional misconduct, failure to cooperate reasonably and in good
faith with the quality assurance measures protected by the confidential-
ity provisions.

Section four provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

It is believed that incidents involving medical errors often go unde-
tected and are under reported because physicians and other health care
providers understand they could potentially be exposed to future civil
actions and any statements or information volunteered as part of the
peer review process could be discovered and used against them in later
court proceedings.

The objective of the discovery exclusion is to "enhance the objectivity
of the review process" and to assure that medical peer review committees
"may frankly and objectively analyze the quality of health services
rendered. See Memorandum of Assembly Rules Committee, Bill Cacket, L.
1971, ch. 930, at 6. The Court of Appeals stated that "by guaranteeing
confidentiality to quality review and malpractice prevention procedures,
this provision is designed to encourage thorough and candid peer review
of physicians, and thereby improve the quality of medical care." Logue
v. Velez, 92 N.Y.2d 13,17,699 N.E.2d 365, 367 (1998).

However, both the Public Health Law and the Education Law contain the
same narrow exception that permits disclosure of statements given at an
otherwise privileged peer review meeting by a party (medical provider)
to a lawsuit which involves the same underlying conduct that is the
topic of discussion at the meeting. The courts have reinforced this
exception by stating that "the evident purpose of this provision is to
permit discovery of statements given by a physician or other profes-
sional in the course of a hospital's review of the facts and circum-
stances of an earlier incident which had given rise to a malpractice
action." Logue v. Velez, 92 N.Y.2d 13,19,69 N.F. 2d 365, 368(1998-); see
also Swartzenberg v. Trivedi, 189 A.D.2d 151,153 (1993), appeal
dismissed, 82 N.Y.2d 749 (1993). This exception compromises the effec-
tive utilization of the peer review process to enhance the quality of
care and adequately detect and prevent medical errors.

This legislation would improve the peer review process and ultimately
protect the public health and reduce the incidence of avoidable medical
errors. By providing health care providers who are the subject of peer
review proceedings confidentiality from discovery of testimony given at
such proceedings, it is expected that medical errors will be more readi-
ly detected and addressed by increasing providers' willingness to submit
information that is necessary to conduct properly and expeditiously peer
review activities, absent the fear of later misuse of their statements
by attorneys or the media.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2015-2016: S.4698

2013/2014: S.2071

2011/2012: S.1207

2009/2010: S.2821

2007/2008: S.4642-A

2005/2006: S.764

2001/2002: S.4629

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2019-S1800 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1800
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 16, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  RIVERA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed 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  ASSEM-
 BLY, 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
 medical  and  dental  malpractice  prevention  program  nor  any  report
 required by the department of health pursuant  to  section  twenty-eight
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD03364-01-9

 S. 1800                             2
 
 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 thir-
 ty-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 inves-
 tigation 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  CONFI-
 DENTIALITY  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.

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