Brief Description: Allowing quality improvement committee confidentiality.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Health & Long-Term Care (originally sponsored by Senators Keiser, Parlette, Kastama and Brandland).

Hearing Date: 3/17/05

Staff: Chris Blake (786-7392).

Background:

In Washington, hospitals maintain quality improvement committees to improve the quality of health care services and prevent medical malpractice. Quality improvement proceedings review medical staff privileges and employee competency, collect information related to negative health care outcomes, and conduct safety improvement activities. These committees are required to report to the governing board of the hospital at least twice a year to review quality improvement activities and actions taken as a result of those activities. Provider groups and medical facilities other than hospitals are encouraged to conduct similar activities. With some limited exceptions, information and documents created for or collected and maintained by a quality improvement committee are not subject to discovery, not admissible into evidence in any civil action, and are confidential and not subject to public disclosure.

Public hospital districts are types of municipal corporations that are authorized to operate hospitals and other health care facilities and provide other hospital and health care services within a specified community. In addition to operating hospitals, these services may include nursing homes, extended care, long-term care, outpatient and rehabilitation facilities, and ambulance services. As municipal corporations, all meetings of the governing board of a public hospital district must be open and public unless an executive session is authorized. In addition, to general executive session authority, public hospital districts are specifically authorized to consider the status of the clinical or staff privileges of a health care provider in executive session.

Summary of Bill:

Meetings of quality improvement committees and boards of commissioners for public hospital districts to review reports or activities of a quality improvement committee may be confidential and may be conducted at executive session. Any such review of reports or activities of a quality improvement committee is afforded the same protections regarding use in discovery, admissibility into evidence, confidentiality, and public disclosure as apply to quality improvement committees. Any final action by the board of commissioners regarding the quality improvement committee's report must be taken in public session.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Not requested.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.