Physicians and patient safety groups are petitioning a state supreme court to overturn a recent ruling that would force disclosure of peer review documentation and potentially bring ongoing efforts to improve the quality and safety of patient care to a halt.
The Litigation Center of the AMA and State Medical Societies, the Kentucky Medical Association and more than two dozen patient safety and health care quality groups from around the country have filed a brief with the Kentucky Supreme Court, arguing that the appeals court ruling in Tibbs v. Bunnell would hamper open discussions that are essential to maintaining and improving patient safety.
The brief calls out the errors of the ruling, which said that any medical records and reports required to be collected and maintained under state law should be subject to disclosure, even if they are confidential documents. The ruling identified peer-review, credentialing and pharmacy records as examples of information that cannot be protected from discovery.
“It is therefore no surprise that numerous hospitals, patient safety organizations and other stakeholders are already expressing fear that the decision will effectively put an end to the confidential sharing of adverse events, peer review documents and other information relating to patient safety activities,” the brief states. “[This] sharing has proven so valuable in improving patient outcomes in Kentucky.”
In particular, the ruling would undermine federal Patient Safety Act, which is intended to promote a protected space in which to conduct frank conversations about patient safety and exchange reports and analyses that have broad implications.
“Unless the decision is modified or clarified, it will significantly impair and undermine efforts by hospitals, physicians and other providers to improve the quality of health care to patients in the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” the brief states.
Visit the AMA Litigation Center’s Web page to learn more about this case and others related to peer review.
