State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > Rhode-island > Title-23 > Chapter-23-17 > 23-17-25SECTION 23-17-25
§ 23-17-25 Privileges and immunities forpeer review activities. – (a) Neither the proceedings nor the records of peer review boards as defined in§ 5-37-1 shall be subject to discovery or be admissible in evidence in anycase save litigation arising out of the imposition of sanctions upon aphysician. However, any imposition or notice of a restriction of privileges ora requirement of supervision imposed on a physician for unprofessional conductas defined in § 5-37-5.1 shall be subject to discovery and be admissiblein any proceeding against the physician for performing, or against any healthcare facility or health care provider which allows the physician to perform themedical procedures which are the subject of the restriction or supervisionduring the period of the restriction or supervision or subsequent to thatperiod. Nothing contained in this section shall apply to records made in theregular course of business by a hospital or other provider of health careinformation. Documents or records otherwise available from original sources arenot to be construed as immune from discovery or used in any civil proceedingsmerely because they were presented during the proceedings of the committee.
(b) There shall be no monetary liability on the part of, andno cause of action for damages shall arise against, any member of a dulyappointed peer review board operated pursuant to written by-laws, for any actor proceeding undertaken or performed within the scope of the functions of anypeer review board.
(c) There shall be no monetary liability on the part of, andno cause of action for damage shall arise against, any person on account of thecommunication of information in the possession of the person to any peer reviewboard or the board of medical licensure and discipline, when the communicationis intended to aid in the evaluation of the qualifications, fitness, orcharacter of a practitioner of the healing arts, and does not represent as trueany matter not reasonably believed to be true.
(d) Any peer review processes authorized by statute andcarried out in good faith shall have the benefit of the state action exemptionto the state antitrust law.
