Amd §2805-m, Pub Health L; amd §§6527 & 6530, Ed L
 
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.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3661
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 25, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sen. HANNON -- 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:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 2805-m of the public health law,
2 as amended by chapter 808 of the laws of 1987, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 2. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, none of the records,
5 documentation or committee actions or records required pursuant to
6 sections twenty-eight hundred five-j and twenty-eight hundred five-k of
7 this article, the reports required pursuant to section twenty-eight
8 hundred five-l of this article nor any incident reporting requirements
9 imposed upon diagnostic and treatment centers pursuant to the provisions
10 of this chapter shall be subject to disclosure under article six of the
11 public officers law or article thirty-one of the civil practice law and
12 rules, except as hereinafter provided or as provided by any other
13 provision of law. No person in attendance at a meeting of any such
14 committee shall be required to testify as to what transpired thereat.
15 [The] Furthermore, the prohibition relating to discovery of testimony
16 shall [not] apply to the statements made by any person in attendance at
17 such a meeting who is a party to an action or proceeding the subject
18 matter of which was reviewed at such meeting.
19 § 2. The closing paragraph of subdivision 3 of section 6527 of the
20 education law, as amended by chapter 257 of the laws of 1987, is amended
21 to read as follows:
22 Neither the proceedings nor the records relating to performance of a
23 medical or a quality assurance review function or participation in a
24 medical and dental malpractice prevention program nor any report
25 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.
LBD02267-01-7
S. 3661 2
1 hundred five-l of the public health law described herein, including the
2 investigation of an incident reported pursuant to section 29.29 of the
3 mental hygiene law, shall be subject to disclosure under article thir-
4 ty-one of the civil practice law and rules except as hereinafter
5 provided or as provided by any other provision of law. No person in
6 attendance at a meeting when a medical or a quality assurance review or
7 a medical and dental malpractice prevention program or an incident
8 reporting function described herein was performed, including the inves-
9 tigation of an incident reported pursuant to section 29.29 of the mental
10 hygiene law, shall be required to testify as to what transpired thereat.
11 [The] Furthermore, the prohibition relating to discovery of testimony
12 shall [not] apply to the statements made by any person in attendance at
13 such a meeting who is a party to an action or proceeding the subject
14 matter of which was reviewed at such meeting.
15 § 3. Section 6530 of the education law is amended by adding a new
16 subdivision 50 to read as follows:
17 50. Failure to cooperate and participate, reasonably and in good
18 faith, in the quality assurance, incident reporting, and peer review
19 programs, activities, requirements and procedures covered by the confi-
20 dentiality provisions of section twenty-eight hundred five-m of the
21 public health law or clause (a), (b), (d) or (e) of subdivision three of
22 section sixty-five hundred twenty-seven of this title.
23 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.