§663-1.7  Professional society; peer review
committee; ethics committee; hospital or clinic quality assurance committee; no
liability; exceptions.  (a)  As used in this section:



"Ethics committee" means a committee
that may be an interdisciplinary committee appointed by the administrative
staff of a licensed hospital, whose function is to consult, educate, review,
and make decisions regarding ethical questions, including decisions on
life-sustaining therapy.



"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 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 or occupation, or area of specialty practice, or in its
hospital, clinic, health maintenance organization, preferred provider
organization, or preferred provider network.



"Preferred provider organization" and
"preferred provider network" means a partnership, association,
corporation, or other entity which delivers or arranges for the delivery of
health services, and which 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 or 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 or occupation or specialty
practice.



"Quality assurance committee" means
an interdisciplinary committee established by the board of trustees or
administrative staff of a licensed hospital, clinic, health maintenance
organization, preferred provider organization, or preferred provider network,
whose function is to monitor and evaluate patient care, and to identify, study,
and correct deficiencies and seek improvements in the patient care delivery
process.



(b)  There shall be no civil liability for any
member of a peer review committee, ethics committee, or quality assurance
committee, or for any person who files a complaint with or appears as a witness
before those committees, for any acts done in the furtherance of the purpose
for which the peer review committee, ethics committee, or quality assurance committee
was established; provided that:



(1)  The member, witness, or complainant acted without
malice; and



(2)  In the case of a member, the member was
authorized to perform in the manner in which the member did.



(c)  There shall be no civil liability for any
person who participates with or assists a peer review committee or quality
assurance committee, or for any person providing information to a peer review
committee or quality assurance committee for any acts done in furtherance of
the purpose for which the peer review committee or quality assurance committee
was established, unless such information is false and the person providing it
knew such information was false.



(d)  This section shall not be construed to
confer immunity from liability upon any professional society, hospital, clinic,
health maintenance organization, preferred provider organization, or preferred
provider network, nor shall it affect the immunity of any shareholder or
officer of a professional corporation; provided that there shall be no civil
liability for any professional society, hospital, clinic, health maintenance
organization, preferred provider organization, or preferred provider network in
communicating any conclusions reached by one of its peer review committees,
ethics committees, or quality assurance committees relating to the conformance
with professional standards of any person engaged in the profession or
occupation of which the membership of the communicating professional society
consists, to a peer review committee, an ethics committee, or quality assurance
committee of another professional society, hospital, clinic, health maintenance
organization, preferred provider organization, or preferred provider network
whose membership is comprised of persons engaged in the same profession or
occupation, or to a duly constituted governmental board or commission or
authority having as one of its duties the licensing of persons engaged in that
same profession or to a government agency charged with the responsibility for
administering a program of medical assistance in which services are provided by
private practitioners.



(e)  The final peer review committee of a
medical society, hospital, clinic, health maintenance organization, preferred
provider organization, or preferred provider network, or other health care
facility shall report in writing every adverse decision made by it to the
department of commerce and consumer affairs; provided that final peer review
committee means that body whose actions are final with respect to a particular
case; and provided further that in any case where there are levels of review
nationally or internationally, the final peer review committee for the purposes
of this subsection shall be the final committee in this State.  The quality
assurance committee shall report in writing to the department of commerce and
consumer affairs any information which identifies patient care by any person
engaged in a profession or occupation which does not meet hospital, clinic,
health maintenance organization, preferred provider organization, or preferred
provider network standards and which results in disciplinary action unless such
information is immediately transmitted to an established peer review
committee.  The report shall be filed within thirty business days following an
adverse decision.  The report shall contain information on the nature of the
action, its date, the reasons for, and the circumstances surrounding the
action; provided that specific patient identifiers shall be expunged.  If a
potential adverse decision was superseded by resignation or other voluntary
action that was requested or bargained for in lieu of medical disciplinary
action, the report shall so state.  The department shall prescribe forms for
the submission of reports required by this section.  Failure to comply with
this subsection shall be a violation punishable by a fine of not less than $100
for each member of the committee.



(f)  In any civil action arising under this
section where a party seeks money damages or injunctive relief, or both, against
another party, and the case is subsequently decided, the court may, as it deems
just, assess against either party, and enter as part of its order, for which
execution may issue, a reasonable sum for attorneys' fees, in an amount to be
determined by the court upon a specific finding that the party's claim or
defense was frivolous.



(g)  In determining the award of attorneys'
fees and the amounts to be awarded under subsection (f), the court must find in
writing that all claims or defenses made by the party are frivolous and are not
reasonably supported by the facts and the law in the civil action. [L 1970, c
60, §1; am L 1975, c 170, §2; am L 1976, c 219, §18; am L 1982, c 227, §6; am L
1983, c 231, §1; am L 1984, c 168, §16; gen ch 1985; am L 1986, c 82, §1; am L
1988, c 325, §1; am L 1989, c 216, §1 and c 354, §4; am L 1992, c 47, §2; am L
1997, c 279, §2]



 



Cross References



 



  Exemption from discovery of proceedings, see §624-25.5.



  Health care peer review, see chapter 671D.



  Vexatious litigants, see chapter 634J.



 



Case Notes



 



  Peer review is complete defense to defamation action.  754
F.2d 1420.