(a) A member of a duly appointed medical review committee who acts without malice or fraud shall not be subject to liability for damages in any civil action on account of any act, statement or proceeding undertaken, made, or performed within the scope of the functions of the committee.

(b) The proceedings of a medical review committee, the records and materials it produces and the materials it considers shall be confidential and not considered public records within the meaning of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-1, ” ‘Public records’ defined”, and shall not be subject to discovery or introduction into evidence in any civil action against a hospital, an ambulatory surgical facility licensed under Chapter 131E of the N.C. Gen. Stat., or a provider of professional health services which results from matters which are the subject of evaluation and review by the committee. No person who was in attendance at a meeting of the committee shall be required to testify in any civil action as to any evidence or other matters produced or presented during the proceedings of the committee or as to any findings, recommendations, evaluations, opinions, or other actions of the committee or its members. However, information, documents, or records otherwise available are not immune from discovery or use in a civil action merely because they were presented during proceedings of the committee. Documents otherwise available as public records within the meaning of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-1 do not lose their status as public records merely because they were presented or considered during proceedings of the committee. A member of the committee or a person who testifies before the committee may testify in a civil action but cannot be asked about the person’s testimony before the committee or any opinions formed as a result of the committee hearings.

(c) Information that is confidential and is not subject to discovery or use in civil actions under this section may be released to a professional standards review organization that performs any accreditation or certification including the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, or to a patient safety organization or its designated contractors. Information released under this subsection shall be limited to that which is reasonably necessary and relevant to the standards review organization’s determination to grant or continue accreditation or certification, or the patient safety organization’s or its contractors’ analysis of patient safety and health care quality. Information released under this subsection retains its confidentiality and is not subject to discovery or use in any civil actions as provided under this section, and the standards review or patient safety organization shall keep the information confidential subject to this section, except as necessary to carry out the organization’s patient safety, accreditation, or certification activities. For the purposes of this section, “patient safety organization” means an entity that collects and analyzes patient safety or health care quality data of providers for the purpose of improving patient safety and the quality of health care delivery and includes, but is not limited to, an entity formed pursuant to Public Law No. 109-41. (1973, c. 1111; 1981, c. 725; 1983, c. 775, s. 1; 1999-222, s. 2; 2002-179, s. 19; 2004-149, s. 2.5; 2006-144, s. 3.2.)