                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATIONS OF CERTAIN COMMITTEES AND ENTITIES (§ 8.01-581.17)

A. For the purposes of this section:
			&#8220;Centralized credentialing service&#8221; means (i) gathering
information relating to applications for professional staff privileges at any
public or licensed private hospital or for participation as a provider in any
health maintenance organization, preferred provider organization, or any similar
organization and (ii) providing such information to those hospitals and
organizations that utilize the service.
			&#8220;Patient safety data&#8221; means reports made to patient safety
organizations together with all health care data, interviews, memoranda,
analyses, root cause analyses, products of quality assurance or quality
improvement processes, corrective action plans, or information collected or
created by a health care provider as a result of an occurrence related to the
provision of health care services.
			&#8220;Patient safety organization&#8221; means any organization, group, or
other entity that collects and analyzes patient safety data for the purpose of
improving patient safety and health care outcomes and that is independent and
not under the control of the entity that reports patient safety data.

B. The proceedings, minutes, records, and reports of any (i) medical staff
committee, utilization review committee, professional program, or other
committee, board, group, commission, or other entity as specified in &#xA7;
8.01-581.16; (ii) nonprofit entity that provides a centralized credentialing
service; or (iii) quality assurance, quality of care, or peer review committee
established pursuant to guidelines approved or adopted by (a) a national or
state physician peer review entity, (b) a national or state physician
accreditation entity, (c) a national professional association of health care
providers or Virginia chapter of a national professional association of health
care providers, (d) a licensee of a managed care health insurance plan (MCHIP)
as defined in &#xA7; 38.2-5800, (e) the Office of Emergency Medical Services or
any regional emergency medical services council, or (f) a statewide or local
association representing health care providers licensed in the Commonwealth,
together with all communications, both oral and written, originating in or
provided to such committees or entities, are privileged communications which may
not be disclosed or obtained by legal discovery proceedings unless a circuit
court, after a hearing and for good cause arising from extraordinary
circumstances being shown, orders the disclosure of such proceedings, minutes,
records, reports, or communications. Additionally, for the purposes of this
section, accreditation and peer review records of the American College of
Radiology and the Medical Society of Virginia are considered privileged
communications. Oral communications regarding a specific medical incident
involving patient care, made to a quality assurance, quality of care, or peer
review committee established pursuant to clause (iii), shall be privileged only
to the extent made more than 24 hours after the occurrence of the medical
incident. Nothing in this section shall be construed as providing any privilege
to any health care provider, emergency medical services agency, community
services board, or behavioral health authority with respect to any factual
information regarding specific patient health care or treatment, including
patient health care incidents, whether oral, electronic, or written. However,
the analysis, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and the deliberative
process of any medical staff committee, utilization review committee, or other
committee, board, group, commission, or other entity specified in &#xA7;
8.01-581.16, as well as the proceedings, minutes, records, and reports,
including the opinions and reports of experts, of such entities shall be
privileged in their entirety under this section. Information known by a witness
with knowledge of the facts or treating health care provider is not privileged
or protected from discovery merely because it is provided to a committee, board,
group, commission, or other entity specified in &#xA7; 8.01-581.16, and may be
discovered by deposition or otherwise in the course of discovery. A person
involved in the work of the entities referenced in this subsection shall not be
made a witness with knowledge of the facts by virtue of his involvement in the
quality assurance, peer review, professional program, or credentialing process.

C. Nothing in this section shall be construed as providing any privilege to
health care provider, emergency medical services agency, community services
board, or behavioral health authority medical records kept with respect to a
patient, whose treatment is at issue, in the ordinary course of business of
operating a hospital, emergency medical services agency, community services
board, or behavioral health authority nor to any facts or information contained
in medical records, nor shall this section preclude or affect discovery of or
production of evidence relating to hospitalization or treatment of such patient
in the ordinary course of the patient&#8217;s hospitalization or treatment.
However, the proceedings, minutes, records, reports, analysis, findings,
conclusions, recommendations, and the deliberative process, including opinions
and reports of experts, of any medical staff committee, utilization review
committee, professional program, or other committee, board, group, commission,
or other entity specified in &#xA7; 8.01-581.16 shall not constitute medical
records, are privileged in their entirety, and are not discoverable.

D. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, reports or patient
safety data in possession of a patient safety organization, together with the
identity of the reporter and all related correspondence, documentation,
analysis, results, or recommendations, shall be privileged and confidential and
shall not be subject to a civil, criminal, or administrative subpoena or
admitted as evidence in any civil, criminal, or administrative proceeding.
Nothing in this subsection shall affect the discoverability or admissibility of
facts, information, or records referenced in subsection C as related to patient
care from a source other than a patient safety organization.

E. Any patient safety organization shall promptly remove all patient-identifying
information after receipt of a complete patient safety data report unless such
organization is otherwise permitted by state or federal law to maintain such
information. Patient safety organizations shall maintain the confidentiality of
all patient-identifying information and shall not disseminate such information
except as permitted by state or federal law.

F. Exchange of (i) patient safety data among health care providers or patient
safety organizations that does not identify any patient or (ii) information
privileged pursuant to subsection B between professional programs, committees,
boards, groups, commissions, or other entities specified in &#xA7; 8.01-581.16
shall not constitute a waiver of any privilege established in this section.

G. Reports of patient safety data to patient safety organizations shall not
abrogate obligations to make reports to health regulatory boards or other
agencies as required by state or federal law.

H. No employer shall take retaliatory action against an employee who in good
faith makes a report of patient safety data to a patient safety organization.

I. Reports produced solely for purposes of self-assessment of compliance with
requirements or standards of a national accrediting organization granted
authority by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to ensure compliance
with Medicare conditions of participation pursuant to &#xA7; 1865 of Title XVIII
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. &#xA7; 1395bb) shall be privileged and
confidential and shall not be subject to subpoena or admitted as evidence in a
civil or administrative proceeding. Nothing in this subsection shall affect the
discoverability or admissibility of facts, information, or records referenced in
subsection C as related to patient care from a source other than such
accreditation body. A health care provider&#8217;s release of such reports to
such accreditation body shall not constitute a waiver of any privilege provided
under this section.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 8-654.10; 1976, c. 611; 1977, c. 617; 1995, c. 500; 1997,
c. 292; 2001, c. 381; 2002, c. 675; 2004, c. 250; 2006, cc. 412, 678; 2007, c.
530; 2010, c. 196; 2011, cc. 15, 753; 2014, c. 320; 2020, cc. 198, 1093.