New Hampshire Revised Statutes 135-C:63-a – Proceedings of Quality Assurance Program; Confidentiality
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I. As used in this section:
(a) “Records” means records of interviews, internal reviews and investigations, and all reports, statements, minutes, memoranda, charts, statistics, and other documentation generated during the activities of a quality assurance program. Records shall not mean original medical records or other records kept relative to any patient in the course of the business of operating a community mental health program.
(b) “Quality assurance program” means a comprehensive, on-going, organization-wide system of mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the quality and appropriateness of the care provided, so that important problems and trends in the delivery of care are identified and that steps are taken to correct problems and to take advantage of opportunities to improve care.
II. Except as provided under N.H. Rev. Stat. § 135-C:5, II, records of a community mental health program’s quality assurance program, including those of its functional components and committees as defined by the organization’s quality assurance plans, organized to evaluate matters relating to the care and treatment of patients and to improve the quality of care provided and testimony by members on the board of directors of the community mental health program, medical and clinical staff, employees, or other committee attendees relating to activities of the quality assurance program shall be confidential and privileged and shall be protected from direct or indirect means of discovery, subpoena, or admission into evidence in any judicial or administrative proceeding. However, information, documents, or records otherwise available from original sources are not to be construed as immune from discovery or use in any such civil or administrative action merely because they were presented to a quality assurance program, and any person who supplies information or testifies as part of a quality assurance program, or who is a member of a quality assurance program committee, may not be prevented from testifying as to matters within his or her knowledge, but such witness may not be asked about his or her testimony before such program, or opinions formed by him or her, as a result of committee participation. Further, a program’s records shall be discoverable in either of the following cases:
(a) A judicial or administrative proceeding brought by a community mental health program, its quality assurance program, or its board of directors to revoke or restrict the license or certification of a staff member; or
(b) A proceeding alleging repetitive malicious action and personal injury brought against a staff member.
III. A community mental health program board of directors or trustees may waive its privilege under this section and release information or present records of the quality assurance program by discovery, subpoena, or admission into evidence in any judicial or administrative proceeding.
IV. No directors, trustees, medical or clinical staff, employees, or other attendees of the quality assurance program shall be held liable in any action for damages or other relief arising from the providing of information to a quality assurance program or in any judicial or administrative proceeding.
(a) “Records” means records of interviews, internal reviews and investigations, and all reports, statements, minutes, memoranda, charts, statistics, and other documentation generated during the activities of a quality assurance program. Records shall not mean original medical records or other records kept relative to any patient in the course of the business of operating a community mental health program.
Terms Used In New Hampshire Revised Statutes 135-C:63-a
- Community mental health program: means a program established and administered by the state, city, town, or county, or a nonprofit corporation for the purpose of providing mental health services to the residents of the area and which minimally provides emergency, medical or psychiatric screening and evaluation, case management, and psychotherapy services. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 135-C:2
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of these laws, shall mean the section next preceding or following that in which such reference is made, unless some other is expressly designated. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:13
- person: may extend and be applied to bodies corporate and politic as well as to individuals. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:9
- Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
- Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
- Treatment: means examination, diagnosis, training, rehabilitation therapy, pharmaceuticals, and other services provided to clients in the mental health services system. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 135-C:2
(b) “Quality assurance program” means a comprehensive, on-going, organization-wide system of mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the quality and appropriateness of the care provided, so that important problems and trends in the delivery of care are identified and that steps are taken to correct problems and to take advantage of opportunities to improve care.
II. Except as provided under N.H. Rev. Stat. § 135-C:5, II, records of a community mental health program’s quality assurance program, including those of its functional components and committees as defined by the organization’s quality assurance plans, organized to evaluate matters relating to the care and treatment of patients and to improve the quality of care provided and testimony by members on the board of directors of the community mental health program, medical and clinical staff, employees, or other committee attendees relating to activities of the quality assurance program shall be confidential and privileged and shall be protected from direct or indirect means of discovery, subpoena, or admission into evidence in any judicial or administrative proceeding. However, information, documents, or records otherwise available from original sources are not to be construed as immune from discovery or use in any such civil or administrative action merely because they were presented to a quality assurance program, and any person who supplies information or testifies as part of a quality assurance program, or who is a member of a quality assurance program committee, may not be prevented from testifying as to matters within his or her knowledge, but such witness may not be asked about his or her testimony before such program, or opinions formed by him or her, as a result of committee participation. Further, a program’s records shall be discoverable in either of the following cases:
(a) A judicial or administrative proceeding brought by a community mental health program, its quality assurance program, or its board of directors to revoke or restrict the license or certification of a staff member; or
(b) A proceeding alleging repetitive malicious action and personal injury brought against a staff member.
III. A community mental health program board of directors or trustees may waive its privilege under this section and release information or present records of the quality assurance program by discovery, subpoena, or admission into evidence in any judicial or administrative proceeding.
IV. No directors, trustees, medical or clinical staff, employees, or other attendees of the quality assurance program shall be held liable in any action for damages or other relief arising from the providing of information to a quality assurance program or in any judicial or administrative proceeding.