Massachusetts General Laws ch. 111 sec. 205 – Information and records necessary to comply with risk management and quality assurance programs; confidentiality; definitions
Section 205. (a) As used in this section the following terms shall have the following meanings:
Terms Used In Massachusetts General Laws ch. 111 sec. 205
- 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.
- Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
”Health care facility”, any entity required to participate in risk management and quality assurance programs established by the board of registration in medicine.
”Patient care assessment coordinator”, a person or committee designated by a health care facility to implement and coordinate the facility’s compliance with risk management and quality assurance programs established by the board of registration in medicine.
”Risk management and quality assurance programs established by the board of registration in medicine”, programs and activities undertaken pursuant to regulations promulgated by the board of registration in medicine under section two hundred and three of this chapter and sections five and five I of chapter one hundred and twelve.
(b) Information and records which are necessary to comply with risk management and quality assurance programs established by the board of registration in medicine and which are necessary to the work product of medical peer review committees, including incident reports required to be furnished to the board of registration in medicine or any information collected or compiled by a physician credentialing verification service operated by a society or organization of medical professionals for the purpose of providing credentialing information to health care entities shall be deemed to be proceedings, reports or records of a medical peer review committee for purposes of section two hundred and four of this chapter and may be so designated by the patient care assessment coordinator; provided, however, that such information and records so designated by the patient care assessment coordinator may be inspected, maintained and utilized by the board of registration in medicine, including but not limited to its data repository and disciplinary unit. Such information and records inspected, maintained or utilized by the board of registration in medicine shall remain confidential, and not subject to subpoena, discovery or introduction into evidence, consistent with section two hundred and four; however, such records may not remain confidential if disclosed in an adjudicatory proceeding of the board of registration in medicine, but the information and records shall be otherwise subject to the protections afforded by section two hundred and four. In no event, however, shall records of treatment maintained pursuant to section seventy of this chapter, or incident reports or records or information which are not necessary to comply with risk management and quality assurance programs established by the board of registration in medicine be deemed to be proceedings, reports or records of a medical peer review committee under this section; nor shall any person be prevented by the provisions of this section from testifying as to matters known by such person independent of risk management and quality assurance programs established by the board of registration in medicine.