This information was last updated by Horty, Springer & Mattern on March 23, 2021.
CONNECTICUT
PEER REVIEW
Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. Section 19a-17b. Peer Review: Definitions; immunity; discovery permissible re proceedings
(a) For the purposes of this section:
(1) “Health care provider” means any person, corporation, limited liability company, facility or institution operated, owned, or licensed by this state to provide health care or professional services, or an officer, employee or agent thereof acting in the course and scope of his employment.
(2) “Peer review” means the procedure for evaluation by health care professionals of the quality and efficiency of services ordered or performed by other health care professionals, including practice analysis, inpatient hospital and extended care facility utilization review, medical audit, ambulatory care review and claims review.
(3) “Professional Society” includes medical, psychological, nursing, dental, natureopathic, osteopathic, optometric, pharmaceutical, chiropractic, podiatric, physical therapy and occupational therapy organizations as well as individual practice associations as defined in Section 300e-1(5) of the Public Health Service Act, 42 USC 300e-1(5), as amended, having as members at least a majority of the eligible licentiates in the area or health care facility or agency served by the particular society or, in the case of the physical therapy organizations, at least twenty-five per cent of the eligible licentiates in the state.
(4) “Medical review committee” includes any committee of a state or local professional society or a committee of any health care institution established pursuant to written bylaws and any utilization review committee established pursuant to Public Law 89-97, and a professional standards review organization or a state-wide professional standards review council, established pursuant to Public Law 92-603, engaging in peer review, to gather and review information relating to the care and treatment of patients for the purposes of (A) evaluating and improving the quality of health care rendered; (B) reducing morbidity or mortality; or (C) establishing and enforcing guidelines designed to keep within reasonable bounds the cost of health care. “Medical review committee” also means any hospital board or committee reviewing the professional qualifications or activities of its medical staff or applicants for admission thereto.
(b) There shall be no monetary liability on the part of, and no cause of action for damages shall arise against, any person who provides testimony, information, records, documents, reports, proceedings, minutes or conclusions to any hospital, hospital medical staff, professional society, medical or dental school, professional licensing board or medical review committee when such communication is intended to aid in the evaluation of the qualifications, fitness or character of a health care provider and does not represent as true any matter not reasonably believed to be true.
(c) There shall be no monetary liability on the part of, and no cause of action for damages shall arise against, any member of a medical review committee for any act or proceeding undertaken or performed within the scope of any such committee’s functions provided that such member has taken action or made recommendations without malice and in the reasonable belief that the act or recommendation was warranted.
(d) The proceedings of a medical review committee conducting a peer review shall not be subject to discovery or introduction into evidence in any civil action for or against a health care provider arising out of the matters which are subject to evaluation and review by such committee, and no person who was in attendance at a meeting of such committee shall be permitted or required to testify in any such civil action as to the content of such proceedings; provided the provisions of this subsection shall not preclude (1) in any civil action, the use of any writing which was recorded independently of such proceedings; (2) in any civil action, the testimony of any person concerning the facts which formed the basis for the institution of such proceedings of which he had personal knowledge acquired independently of such proceedings; (3) in any health care provider proceedings concerning the termination or restriction of staff privileges, other than peer review, the use of data discussed or developed during peer review proceedings; or (4) in any civil action, disclosure of the fact that staff privileges were terminated or restricted, including the specific restrictions imposed, if any.
§20-13j. Profiles on physicians, advanced practice registered nurses and other health care providers. Public availability
(a) For the purposes of this section:
(1) “Department” means the Department of Public Health;
(2) “Other health care provider” means: (A) A dentist licensed under chapter 379; (B) a chiropractor licensed under chapter 372; (C) an optometrist licensed under chapter 380; (D) a podiatrist licensed under chapter 375; (E) a naturopath licensed under chapter 373; (F) a dental hygienist licensed under chapter 379a; or (G) a physical therapist licensed under chapter 376;
(3) “Advanced practice registered nurse” means an advanced practice registered nurse licensed under chapter 378; and
(4) “Physician” means a physician licensed under this chapter.
(b) The department, after consultation with the Connecticut Medical Examining Board, the Connecticut State Medical Society, or any other appropriate state board, shall:
(1) Collect the following information to create an individual profile on each physician and advanced practice registered nurse for dissemination to the public; and
(2) Within available appropriations, collect the following information to create an individual profile on each other health care provider for dissemination to the public:
(A) The name of the medical or dental school, chiropractic college, school or college of optometry, school or college of chiropody or podiatry, school or college of naturopathy, school of dental hygiene, school of physical therapy or other school or institution giving instruction in the healing arts attended by the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider and the date of graduation;
(B) The site, training, discipline and inclusive dates of any completed postgraduate education or other professional education required pursuant to the applicable licensure section of the general statutes;
(C) The area of the physician’s, advanced practice registered nurse’s or other health care provider’s practice specialty;
(D) The address of the physician’s, advanced practice registered nurse’s or other health care provider’s primary practice location or primary practice locations, if more than one;
(E) A list of languages, other than English, spoken at the physician’s, advanced practice registered nurse’s or other health care provider’s primary practice locations;
(F) An indication of any disciplinary action taken against the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider by the department, the appropriate state board or any professional licensing or disciplinary body in another jurisdiction;
(G) Any current certifications issued to the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider by a specialty board of the profession;
(H) The hospitals and nursing homes at which the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider has been granted privileges;
(I) Any appointments of the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider to a Connecticut medical school faculty and an indication as to whether the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider has current responsibility for graduate medical education;
(J) A listing of the physician’s, advanced practice registered nurse’s or other health care provider’s publications in peer reviewed literature;
(K) A listing of the physician’s, advanced practice registered nurse’s or other health care provider’s professional services, activities and awards;
(L) Any hospital disciplinary actions against the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider that resulted, within the past ten years, in the termination or revocation of the physician’s, advanced practice registered nurse’s or other health care provider’s hospital privileges for a professional disciplinary cause or reason, or the resignation from, or nonrenewal of, professional staff membership or the restriction of privileges at a hospital taken in lieu of or in settlement of a pending disciplinary case related to professional competence in such hospital;
(M) A description of any criminal conviction of the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider for a felony within the last ten years. For the purposes of this subdivision, a physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider shall be deemed to be convicted of a felony if the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider pleaded guilty or was found or adjudged guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction or has been convicted of a felony by the entry of a plea of nolo contendere;
(N) To the extent available, and consistent with the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, all professional malpractice court judgments and all professional malpractice arbitration awards against the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider in which a payment was awarded to a complaining party during the last ten years, and all settlements of professional malpractice claims against the physician, advanced practice registered nurse and other health care provider in which a payment was made to a complaining party within the last ten years;
(O) An indication as to whether the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider is actively involved in patient care;
(P) An indication as to whether the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider provides primary care services and, for advanced practice registered nurses, an indication as to whether the advanced practice registered nurse is practicing independently or in collaboration with a physician pursuant to a collaborative agreement; and
(Q) The name of the physician’s, advanced practice registered nurse’s or other health care provider’s professional liability insurance carrier.
(c) Any report of a professional malpractice judgment or award against a physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider made under subparagraph (N) of subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of this section shall comply with the following: (1) Dispositions of paid claims shall be reported in a minimum of three graduated categories indicating the level of significance of the award or settlement; (2) information concerning paid professional malpractice claims shall be placed in context by comparing an individual physician’s, advanced practice registered nurse’s or other health care provider’s professional malpractice judgments, awards and settlements to the experience of other physicians, advanced practice registered nurses and other health care providers licensed in Connecticut who perform procedures and treat patients with a similar degree of risk; (3) all judgment award and settlement information reported shall be limited to amounts actually paid by or on behalf of the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider; and (4) comparisons of professional malpractice payment data shall be accompanied by (A) an explanation of the fact that physicians, advanced practice registered nurses and other health care providers treating certain patients and performing certain procedures are more likely to be the subject of litigation than others and that the comparison given is for physicians, advanced practice registered nurses and other health care providers who perform procedures and treat patients with a similar degree of risk; (B) a statement that the report reflects data for the last ten years and the recipient should take into account the number of years the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider has been in practice when considering the data; (C) an explanation that an incident giving rise to a professional malpractice claim may have occurred years before any payment was made due to the time lawsuits take to move through the legal system; (D) an explanation of the effect of treating high-risk patients on a physician’s, advanced practice registered nurse’s or other health care provider’s professional malpractice history; and (E) an explanation that professional malpractice cases may be settled for reasons other than liability and that settlements are sometimes made by the insurer without the physician’s, advanced practice registered nurse’s or other health care provider’s consent. Information concerning all settlements shall be accompanied by the following statement: “Settlement of a claim may occur for a variety of reasons that do not necessarily reflect negatively on the professional competence or conduct of the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider. A payment in settlement of a professional malpractice action or claim should not be construed as creating a presumption that professional malpractice has occurred.”.
(d) Pending professional malpractice claims against a physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider and actual amounts paid by or on behalf of a physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider in connection with a professional malpractice judgment, award or settlement shall not be disclosed by the department to the public. This subsection shall not be construed to prevent the department from investigating and disciplining a physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider on the basis of professional malpractice claims that are pending.
(e) Prior to the initial release of a physician’s, advanced practice registered nurse’s or other health care provider’s profile to the public, the department shall provide the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider with a copy of the physician’s, advanced practice registered nurse’s or other health care provider’s profile. Additionally, any amendments or modifications to the profile that were not supplied by the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider or not generated by the department itself shall be provided to the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider for review prior to release to the public. A physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider shall have sixty days from the date the department mails or delivers the prepublication copy to dispute the accuracy of any information that the department proposes to include in such profile and to submit a written statement setting forth the basis for such dispute. If a physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider does not notify the department that the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider disputes the accuracy of such information within such sixty-day period, the department shall make the profile available to the public and the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider shall be deemed to have approved the profile and all information contained in the profile. If a physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider notifies the department that the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider disputes the accuracy of such information in accordance with this subsection, the physician’s, advanced practice registered nurse’s or other health care provider’s profile shall be released to the public without the disputed information, but with a statement to the effect that information in the identified category is currently the subject of a dispute and is therefore not currently available. Not later than thirty days after the department’s receipt of notice of a dispute, the department shall review any information submitted by the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider in support of such dispute and determine whether to amend the information contained in the profile. In the event that the department determines not to amend the disputed information, the disputed information shall be included in the profile with a statement that such information is disputed by the physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider.
(f) A physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider may elect to have the physician’s, advanced practice registered nurse’s or other health care provider’s profile omit information provided pursuant to subparagraphs (I) to (K), inclusive, of subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of this section. In collecting information for such profiles and in the dissemination of such profiles, the department shall inform physicians, advanced practice registered nurses and other health care providers that they may choose not to provide the information described in said subparagraphs (I) to (K), inclusive.
(g) Each profile created pursuant to this section shall include the following statement: “This profile contains information that may be used as a starting point in evaluating a physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider. This profile should not, however, be your sole basis for selecting a physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider.”.
(h) The department shall maintain a web site on the Internet for use by the public in obtaining profiles of physicians, advanced practice registered nurses and other health care providers.
(i) No state law that would otherwise prohibit, limit or penalize disclosure of information about a physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider shall apply to disclosure of information required by this section.
(j) All information provided by a physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider pursuant to this section shall be subject to the penalty for false statement under section 53a-157b.
(k) Except for the information in subparagraphs (A), (B), (J) and (K) of subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of this section, a physician, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider shall notify the department of any changes to the information required in subsection (b) of this section not later than sixty days after such change.
§19a-25. Confidentiality of records procured by the Department of Public Health or directors of health of towns, cities or boroughs
All information, records of interviews, written reports, statements, notes, memoranda or other data, including personal data as defined in subdivision (9) of section 4-190, procured by the Department of Public Health, by staff committees of facilities accredited by the Department of Public Health or the maternity mortality review committee, established pursuant to section 3 of public act 18-150, in connection with studies of morbidity and mortality conducted by the Department of Public Health, such staff committees or the maternal mortality review committee, or carried on by said department, such staff committees or the maternal mortality review committee jointly with other persons, agencies or organizations, or procured by the directors of health of towns, cities or boroughs or the Department of Public Health pursuant to section 19a-215, or procured by such other persons, agencies or organizations, for the purpose of reducing the morbidity or mortality from any cause or condition, shall be confidential and shall be used solely for the purposes of medical or scientific research and, for information obtained pursuant to section 19a-215, disease prevention and control by the local director of health and the Department of Public Health. Such information, records, reports, statements, notes, memoranda or other data shall not be admissible as evidence in any action of any kind in any court or before any other tribunal, board, agency or person, nor shall it be exhibited or its contents disclosed in any way, in whole or in part, by any officer or representative of the Department of Public Health or of any such facility, by any person participating in such a research project or by any other person, except as may be necessary for the purpose of furthering the research project to which it relates. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 55,1 the Department of Public Health may exchange personal data for the purpose of medical or scientific research, with any other governmental agency or private research organization; provided such state, governmental agency or private research organization shall not further disclose such personal data. The Commissioner of Public Health shall adopt regulations consistent with the purposes of this section to establish the procedures to ensure the confidentiality of such disclosures. The furnishing of such information to the Department of Public Health or its authorized representative, or to any other agency cooperating in such a research project, shall not subject any person, hospital, sanitarium, rest home, nursing home or other person or agency furnishing such information to any action for damages or other relief because of such disclosure. This section shall not be deemed to affect disclosure of regular hospital and medical records made in the course of the regular notation of the care and treatment of any patient, but only records or notations by such staff committees pursuant to their work.
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*§4-190. Definitions
As used in this chapter:
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(9) “Personal data” means any information about a person’s education, finances, medical or emotional condition or history, employment or business history, family or personal relationships, reputation or character which because of name, identifying number, mark or description can be readily associated with a particular person. “Personal data” shall not be construed to make available to a person any record described in subdivision (3) of subsection (b) of section 1-210 [Records of law enforcement agencies not otherwise available to the public].
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