Hawaii Revised Statutes 624-25.5 – Proceedings and records of peer review committees and quality assurance committees
“Case review forum” means any meeting convened by the administrative or professional staff of a licensed hospital or clinic for the presentation and critique of cases for educational purposes.
“Health care review organization” means any organization that gathers and reviews information relating to the procedures and outcomes of health care providers and the care and treatment of patients for the purposes of evaluating and improving quality and efficiency of health care.
“Licensed health maintenance organization” means a health maintenance organization licensed in Hawaii under chapter 432D.
“Peer review committee” means a committee created by a professional society, or by the medical, dental, optometric, or administrative staff of a licensed hospital, clinic, health maintenance organization, preferred provider organization, or preferred provider network, whose function is to maintain the professional standards of persons engaged in its profession, occupation, specialty, or practice established by the bylaws of the society, hospital, clinic, health maintenance organization, preferred provider organization, or preferred provider network of the persons engaged in its profession, occupation, or area of specialty practice, or in its hospital, clinic, health maintenance organization, preferred provider organization, or preferred provider network.
“Preferred provider organization” or “preferred provider network” means a partnership, association, corporation, or other entity that delivers or arranges for the delivery of health services, and that has entered into a written service arrangement or arrangements with health professionals, a majority of whom are licensed to practice medicine or osteopathy.
“Professional society” or “society” means any association or other organization of persons engaged in the same profession, occupation, or a specialty within a profession or occupation, a primary purpose of which is to maintain the professional standards of the persons engaged in its profession, occupation, or specialty practice.
“Quality assurance committee” means:
Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 624-25.5
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- Testify: Answer questions in court.
- Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
For purposes of this subsection, the information and data protected shall include proceedings and records of a peer review committee, hospital quality assurance committee, or health care review organization that include recordings, transcripts, minutes, and summaries of meetings, conversations, notes, materials, or reports created for, by, or at the direction of a peer review committee, quality assurance committee, or a health care review organization when related to a medical error reporting system.
Information and data protected from discovery shall not include incident reports, occurrence reports, statements, or similar reports that state facts concerning a specific situation and shall not include records made in the regular course of business by a hospital or other provider of health care, including patient medical records. Original sources of information, documents, or records shall not be construed as being immune from discovery or use in any civil proceeding merely because they were reviewed or considered by a medical provider for submission to, or were in fact submitted to, a health care review organization.