Bill > SB1695

This bill modifies provisions concerning the admissibility of evidence from peer review committees for health care professionals, defining "health care professional" broadly to include various licensed medical practitioners and "peer review committee" as a group responsible for evaluating the quality of healthcare services. The bill clarifies that members of these committees and those who participate in their operations are immune from civil liability for good faith actions related to the committee's scope. Crucially, it changes the rule regarding the confidentiality of committee proceedings: while interviews, memoranda, findings, deliberations, reports, and minutes concerning an identifiable patient are now *may* be privileged and not subject to discovery or admissibility in legal actions for failure to provide appropriate care, the bill clarifies that information otherwise discoverable from original sources does not become immune simply because it was presented or considered by the committee. It also specifies that committee members can testify about matters within their personal knowledge according to evidence rules, but cannot be questioned about opinions formed solely from committee hearings. These limitations on discovery and admissibility do not apply in actions brought by the committee itself to deny or revoke privileges or licenses, or when a committee member is sued for actions taken that result in such denials. Finally, the bill preserves the authority of state health care licensing boards to obtain information from peer review committees.

https://www.senate.mo.gov/26info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=5552673