The information on this page was last updated by Horty, Springer & Mattern on April 4, 2024.

KENTUCKY

PEER REVIEW

Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. §311.377 Waiver of claim for damages by applicant for or grantee of staff privileges; records confidential; exceptions; federal immunity provisions.

(1) Any person who applies for, or is granted staff privileges after June 17, 1978, by any health services organization subject to licensing under the certificate of need and licensure provisions of KRS Chapter 216B, shall be deemed to have waived as a condition of such application or grant, any claim for damages for any good faith action taken by any person who is a member, participant in or employee of or who furnishes information, professional counsel, or services to any committee, board, commission, or other entity which is duly constituted by any licensed hospital, licensed hospice, licensed home health agency, health insurer, health maintenance organization, health services corporation, organized medical staff, medical society, or association affiliated with the American Medical Association, American Podiatry Association, American Dental Association, American Osteopathic Association, or the American Hospital Association, or a medical care foundation affiliated with such a medical society or association, or governmental or quasigovernmental agency when the entity is performing the designated function of review of credentials or retrospective review and evaluation of the competency of professional acts or conduct of other health care personnel. This subsection shall have equal application to, and the waiver be effective for, those persons who, subsequent to June 17, 1978, continue to exercise staff privileges previously granted by any such health services organization.

(2) At all times in performing a designated professional review function, the proceedings, records, opinions, conclusions, and recommendations of any committee, board, commission, medical staff, professional standards review organization, or other entity, as referred to in subsection (1) of this section, shall be confidential and privileged and shall not be subject to discovery, subpoena, or introduction into evidence, in any civil action in any court, including but not limited to medical malpractice actions, actions arising out of review of credentials or retrospective review and evaluation as referred to in subsection (1) of this section, and actions by an applicant for or grantee of staff privileges as referred to in subsection (1) of this section, or in any administrative proceeding before any board, body, or committee, whether federal, state, county, or city, except as specifically provided with regard to the board in KRS 311.605(2). The confidentiality and privilege protections of this subsection shall only be available to a person or entity that attests to participating in a patient safety and quality improvement initiative, including the program established by the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005, 42 U.S.C. secs. 299b-21 to 299b-26. This subsection shall not apply to any proceedings or matters governed exclusively by federal law or federal regulation.

(3) Nothing in subsection (2) of this section shall be construed to restrict or limit the right to discover or use in any civil action or other administrative proceeding any evidence, document, or record which is subject to discovery independently of the proceedings of the entity to which subsection (1) of this section refers.

(4) No person who presents or offers evidence in proceedings described in subsection (2) of this section or who is a member of any entity before which such evidence is presented or offered may refuse to testify in discovery or upon a trial of any civil action as to any evidence, document, or record described in subsection (3) of this section or as to any information within his own knowledge, except as provided in subsection (5) of this section.

(5) No person shall be permitted or compelled to testify concerning his testimony or the testimony of others except that of a defendant given in any proceeding referred to in subsection (2) of this section, or as to any of his opinions formed as a result of the proceeding.

(6) In any action in which the denial, termination, or restriction of staff membership or privileges by any health care facility shall be in issue, agents, employees, or other representatives of a health care entity may with the consent of the health care entity testify concerning any evidence presented in proceedings related to the facility’s denial of staff membership or privileges.

(7) Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict or prevent the presentation of testimony, records, findings, recommendations, evaluations, opinions, or other actions of any entity described in subsection (1) of this section, in any statutory or administrative proceeding related to the functions or duties of the entity.

(8) In addition to the foregoing, the immunity provisions of the federal Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986, P.L. 99-660, shall be effective arising under state laws as of July 15, 1988.