Senate Bill S4698

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  4698

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              April 8, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  HANNON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Health

AN ACT to amend the public health law and the education law, in relation
  to quality assurance and peer review activities

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Subdivision 2 of section 2805-m of the public health law,
as amended by chapter 808 of the laws of 1987, is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  2.  Notwithstanding  any other provisions of law, none of the records,
documentation or committee  actions  or  records  required  pursuant  to
sections  twenty-eight hundred five-j and twenty-eight hundred five-k of
this article, the reports  required  pursuant  to  section  twenty-eight
hundred  five-l  of this article nor any incident reporting requirements
imposed upon diagnostic and treatment centers pursuant to the provisions
of this chapter shall be subject to disclosure under article six of  the
public  officers law or article thirty-one of the civil practice law and
rules, except as hereinafter  provided  or  as  provided  by  any  other
provision  of  law.  No  person  in  attendance at a meeting of any such
committee shall be required to testify as to  what  transpired  thereat.
[The]  FURTHERMORE,  THE  prohibition relating to discovery of testimony
shall [not] apply to the statements made by any person in attendance  at
such  a  meeting  who  is a party to an action or proceeding the subject
matter of which was reviewed at such meeting.
  S 2. The closing paragraph of subdivision 3 of  section  6527  of  the
education law, as amended by chapter 257 of the laws of 1987, is amended
to read as follows:
  Neither  the  proceedings nor the records relating to performance of a
medical or a quality assurance review function  or  participation  in  a
medical  and  dental  malpractice  prevention  program  nor  any  report
required by the department of health pursuant  to  section  twenty-eight

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD02422-01-5
              

S. 4698                             2

hundred  five-l of the public health law described herein, including the
investigation of an incident reported pursuant to section 29.29  of  the
mental  hygiene  law, shall be subject to disclosure under article thir-
ty-one  of  the  civil  practice  law  and  rules  except as hereinafter
provided or as provided by any other provision  of  law.  No  person  in
attendance  at a meeting when a medical or a quality assurance review or
a medical and dental  malpractice  prevention  program  or  an  incident
reporting  function described herein was performed, including the inves-
tigation of an incident reported pursuant to section 29.29 of the mental
hygiene law, shall be required to testify as to what transpired thereat.
[The] FURTHERMORE, THE prohibition relating to  discovery  of  testimony
shall  [not] apply to the statements made by any person in attendance at
such a meeting who is a party to an action  or  proceeding  the  subject
matter of which was reviewed at such meeting.
  S  3.  Section  6530  of  the education law is amended by adding a new
subdivision 50 to read as follows:
  50. FAILURE TO COOPERATE  AND  PARTICIPATE,  REASONABLY  AND  IN  GOOD
FAITH,  IN  THE  QUALITY  ASSURANCE, INCIDENT REPORTING, AND PEER REVIEW
PROGRAMS, ACTIVITIES, REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES COVERED BY THE  CONFI-
DENTIALITY  PROVISIONS  OF  SECTION  TWENTY-EIGHT  HUNDRED FIVE-M OF THE
PUBLIC HEALTH LAW OR CLAUSE (A), (B), (D) OR (E) OF SUBDIVISION THREE OF
SECTION SIXTY-FIVE HUNDRED TWENTY-SEVEN OF THIS TITLE.
  S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.