§ 63-1-1709.1. Peer review information.

A.  As used in this section:

1.  "Credentialing or recredentialing data" means:

a.the application submitted by a health care professional requesting appointment or reappointment to the medical staff of a health care facility or requesting clinical privileges or other permission to provide health care services at a health care facility,

b.any information submitted by the health care professional in support of such application,

c.any information, unless otherwise privileged, obtained by the health care facility during the credentialing or recredentialing process regarding such application, and

d.the decision made by the health care facility regarding such application;

2.  "Credentialing or recredentialing process" means any process, program or proceeding utilized by a health care facility to assess, review, study or evaluate the credentials of a health care professional;

3.  "Health care facility" means:

a.any hospital or related institution offering or providing health care services under a license issued pursuant to Section 1-706 of this title,

b.any ambulatory surgical center offering or providing health care services under a license issued pursuant to Section 2660 of this title, and

c.the clinical practices of accredited allopathic and osteopathic state medical schools;

4.  "Health care professional" means any person authorized to practice allopathic medicine and surgery, osteopathic medicine, podiatric medicine, optometry, chiropractic, psychology, dentistry or a dental specialty under a license issued pursuant to Title 59 of the Oklahoma Statutes;

5.  "Peer review information" means all records, documents and other information generated during the course of a peer review process, including any reports, statements, memoranda, correspondence, record of proceedings, materials, opinions, findings, conclusions and recommendations, credentialing data and recredentialing data, but does not include:

a.the medical records of a patient whose health care in a health care facility is being reviewed,

b.incident reports and other like documents regarding health care services being reviewed, regardless of how the reports or documents are titled or captioned,

c.the identity of any individuals who have personal knowledge regarding the facts and circumstances surrounding the patient's health care in the health care facility,

d.factual statements regarding the patient's health care in the health care facility from any individuals who have personal knowledge regarding the facts and circumstances surrounding the patient's health care, which factual statements were generated outside the peer review process,

e.the identity of all documents and raw data previously created elsewhere and considered during the peer review process, or

f.copies of all documents and raw data previously created elsewhere and considered during the peer review process, whether available elsewhere or not; and

6.  "Peer review process" means any process, program or proceeding, including a credentialing or recredentialing process, utilized by a health care facility or county medical society to assess, review, study or evaluate the credentials, competence, professional conduct or health care services of a health care professional.

B.  1.  Peer review information shall be private, confidential and privileged except that a health care facility or county medical society shall be permitted to provide relevant peer review information to the state agency or board which licensed the health care professional who provided the health care services being reviewed in a peer review process or who is the subject of a credentialing or recredentialing process, with notice to the health care professional.

2.  Nothing in this section shall be construed to abrogate, alter or affect any provision in the Oklahoma Statutes which provides that information regarding liability insurance of a health care facility or health care professional is not discoverable or admissible.

C.  In any civil action in which a patient or patient's legal representative has alleged that the patient has suffered injuries resulting from negligence by a health care professional in providing health care services to the patient in a health care facility, factual statements, presented during a peer review process utilized by such health care facility, regarding the patient's health care in the health care facility from individuals who have personal knowledge of the facts and circumstances surrounding the patient's health care shall not be subject to discovery.

D.  1.  In any civil action in which a patient or patient's legal representative has alleged that the health care facility was independently negligent as a result of permitting the health care professional to provide health care services to the patient in the health care facility, the credentialing and recredentialing data, and the recommendations made and action taken as a result of any peer review process utilized by such health care facility regarding the health care professional prior to the date of the alleged negligence shall be subject to discovery pursuant to the Oklahoma Discovery Code.

2.  Any information discovered pursuant to this subsection:

a.shall not be admissible as evidence until a judge or jury has first found the health care professional to have been negligent in providing health care services to the patient in such health care facility, and

b.shall not at any time include the identity or means by which to ascertain the identity of any other patient or health care professional.

E.  No person involved in a peer review process may be permitted or required to testify regarding the peer review process in any civil proceeding or disclose by responses to written discovery requests any peer review information.

Added by Laws 1999, c. 180, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1999.  Amended by Laws 2000, c. 354, § 1, emerg. eff. June 6, 2000; Laws 2002, c. 156, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2002; Laws 2004, c. 558, § 2, emerg. eff. June 9, 2004; Laws 2013, 1st Ex. Sess., c. 5, § 2, emerg. eff. Sept. 10, 2013; Laws 2013, 1st Ex. Sess., c. 5, § 3, emerg. eff. Sept. 10, 2013.

Note

NOTE:  Laws 2009, c. 228, § 28 was held unconstitutional by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in the case of Douglas v. Cox Retirement Properties, Inc., 2013 OK 37, 302 P.2d 789 (Okla. 2013) and repealed by Laws 2013, 1st Ex. Sess., c. 5, § 1, emerg. eff. Sept. 10, 2013.