[§663-1.8]  Chiropractic society; peer
review committee; no liability; exceptions.  (a)  As used in this section:



"Chiropractic society" or
"society" means any association or other organization of persons
engaged in the practice of chiropractic, where a primary purpose of the society
is to maintain the professional standards of chiropractors.



"Peer review committee" or
"committee" means a committee created by a chiropractic society,
whose function is to maintain the professional standards established by the
bylaws of the society.



"Relevant" means information having
any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the
investigation or determination of the issue more probable or less probable than
it would be without the information.



(b)  There shall be no civil liability for any
member of a peer review committee for any acts done in furtherance of the
purpose for which the committee was established; provided that:



(1)  The member was authorized to perform in the
manner in which the member did; and



(2)  The member acted without malice after having made
a reasonable effort to ascertain the truth of the facts upon which the member
acted.



(c)  This section shall not be construed to
confer immunity from liability upon any chiropractic society, nor shall it
affect the immunity of any shareholder or officer of a chiropractic
corporation; provided that there shall be no civil liability for any
chiropractic society in communicating any conclusions reached by one of its
peer review committees relating to the conformance with professional standards
of any person engaged in the same profession or occupation as the members of
the communicating chiropractic society to a peer review committee of another
chiropractic society whose membership is comprised of persons engaged in the
same profession or occupation, or to the board of chiropractic examiners having
as one of its duties the licensing of persons engaged in the practice of
chiropractic or to a government agency charged with the responsibility for
administering a program of chiropractic assistance in which services are
provided by private practitioners.



(d)  The final peer review committee of a
chiropractic society shall report in writing every adverse decision made by it
to the board of chiropractic examiners.  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 prior to an adverse decision there is a
resignation or other voluntary action by the person under investigation as may
have been requested or bargained for in lieu of chiropractic disciplinary
action, the report shall so state.  The board 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.



(e)  A committee, in writing, may request an
insurance company or employer to release to the committee relevant information
or evidence deemed important to the committee and relating to the matters
within its jurisdiction.



(f)  After having received a written request
from a company or person providing information to the committee, the committee
shall provide to the company or person the results of their decision within
thirty business days following a decision.



(g)  Any insurance company or person acting on
its behalf or employer who releases information to the committee, whether in
written or oral form, pursuant to subsection (e), shall be immune from any
civil or criminal liability. [L 1984, c 241, §1]