PEER REVIEW COMMITTEES"No hospital or state or local society, and no individual who is a member or employee of a utilization review committee, quality assurance committee, or tissue committee of a hospital or community mental health center, of a hospital board or committee reviewing professional qualifications or activities of its medical staff or applicants for admission to its medical staff, of a utilization committee of a state or local society composed "This section shall also apply to any member or employee of a nonprofit corporation engaged in performing the functions of a peer review committee of nursing home providers or administrators or of a peer review or professional standards review committee. No person who provides information under this section and provides such information without malice and in the reasonable belief that such information is warranted by the facts known to him shall be subject to suit for civil damages as a result thereof." ORC § 2305.25 Any information, data, reports, or records made available to a quality assurance committee or a utilization review committee of a hospital or a utilization review committee of a state or local medical society is confidential and must be used only in the proper exercise of that committee's function. A right of action shall accrue against a committee member for misuse of any such information. No physician or institution providing information to such committee can be held liable in damages for providing information to such committee. ORC § 2305.24 Proceedings and records of all review committees described in ORC § 2305.25 are confidential and are not subject to discovery in a civil action arising out of matters which are the subject of evaluation and review by the committee. No person may be required to testify to matters or evidence presented at a committee meeting. However, the mere fact that materials were presented to a review committee does not preclude their production if the same information is available elsewhere. ORC § 2305.251 (See also: CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE; MANDATORY REPORTING TO THE STATE MEDICAL BOARD; MEDICAL RECORDS )PEER REVIEW COMMITTEES |
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