(a) Except as provided in (b) of this section, all data and information acquired by a review organization in the exercise of its duties and functions shall be held in confidence and may not be disclosed to anyone except to the extent necessary to carry out the purposes of the review organization and is not subject to subpoena or discovery. Except as provided in (b) of this section, a person described in Alaska Stat. § 18.23.020 may not disclose what transpired at a meeting of a review organization except to the extent necessary to carry out the purposes of a review organization, and the proceedings and records of a review organization are not subject to discovery or introduction into evidence in a civil action against a health care provider arising out of the matter that is the subject of consideration by the review organization. Information, documents, or records otherwise available from original sources are not immune from discovery or use in a civil action merely because they were presented during proceedings of a review organization, nor may a person who testified before a review organization or who is a member of it be prevented from testifying as to matters within the person’s knowledge, but a witness may not be asked about the witness’s testimony before a review organization or opinions formed by the witness as a result of its hearings, except as provided in (b) of this section.
Terms Used In Alaska Statutes 18.23.030
action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
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.
person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, organization, business trust, or society, as well as a natural person. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
state: means the State of Alaska unless applied to the different parts of the United States and in the latter case it includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
(b)Testimony, documents, proceedings, records, and other evidence adduced before a review organization that are otherwise inaccessible under this section may be obtained by a health care provider who claims that denial is unreasonable or may be obtained under subpoena or discovery proceedings brought by a plaintiff who claims that information provided to a review organization was false and claims that the person providing the information knew or had reason to know the information was false.(c) Nothing in Alaska Stat. § 18.23.005 – 18.23.070 prevents a person whose conduct or competence has been reviewed under Alaska Stat. § 18.23.005 – 18.23.070 from obtaining, for the purpose of appellate review of the action of the review organization, any testimony, documents, proceedings, records, and other evidence adduced before the review organization.(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of (b) and (c) of this section, information contained in a report submitted to the State Medical Board, and information gathered by the board during an investigation, under Alaska Stat. § 08.64.336 is not subject to subpoena or discovery unless and until the board takes action to suspend, revoke, limit, or condition a license of the person who is the subject of the report or investigation.
