SB 672,
as amended, Hernandez. Discovery:begin delete pharmacyend deletebegin insert pharmacistend insert review committees.
Existing law exempts from discovery as evidence the proceedings and records of specified organized committees of health care professionals and review committees having the responsibility of evaluation and improvement of the quality of care.
This bill would extend this exemption, for purposes of civil proceedings only, to the proceedings and records ofbegin delete pharmacyend deletebegin insert pharmacistend insert organized committees and review committees, as described above.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 1157 of the Evidence Code is amended
2to read:
(a) Neither the proceedings nor the records of organized
4committees of medical, medical-dental, podiatric, registered
5dietitian, psychological, marriage and family therapist, licensed
P2 1clinical social worker, professional clinical counselor, begin deletepharmacy, end delete
2begin insertpharmacist, end insertor veterinary staffs in hospitals, or of a peer review
3body, as defined in Section 805 of the Business and Professions
4Code, having the responsibility of evaluation and improvement of
5the quality of care rendered in the hospital, or for that peer review
6body, or medical or dental review or dental hygienist review or
7
chiropractic review or podiatric review or registered dietitian
8review or pharmacist review or veterinary review or acupuncturist
9review committees of local medical, dental, dental hygienist,
10podiatric, dietetic, pharmacy, veterinary, acupuncture, or
11chiropractic societies, marriage and family therapist, licensed
12clinical social worker, professional clinical counselor, or
13psychological review committees of state or local marriage and
14family therapist, state or local licensed clinical social worker, state
15or local licensed professional clinical counselor, or state or local
16psychological associations or societies having the responsibility
17of evaluation and improvement of the quality of care, shall be
18subject to discovery.
19(b) Except as hereinafter provided, a person in attendance at a
20meeting of any of the committees described in subdivision
(a) shall
21not be required to testify as to what transpired at that meeting.
22(c) The prohibition relating to discovery or testimony does not
23apply to the statements made by a person in attendance at a meeting
24of any of the committees described in subdivision (a) if that person
25is a party to an action or proceeding the subject matter of which
26was reviewed at that meeting, or to a person requesting hospital
27staff privileges, or in an action against an insurance carrier alleging
28bad faith by the carrier in refusing to accept a settlement offer
29within the policy limits.
30(d) The prohibitions in this section do not apply to medical,
31dental, dental hygienist, podiatric, dietetic, psychological, marriage
32and family therapist, licensed clinical social worker, professional
33clinical
counselor,begin delete pharmacy,end deletebegin insert pharmacist,end insert veterinary, acupuncture,
34or chiropractic society committees that exceed 10 percent of the
35membership of the society, nor to any of those committees if any
36person serves upon the committee when his or her own conduct
37or practice is being reviewed.
38(e) The amendments made to this section by Chapter 1081 of
39the Statutes of 1983, or at the 1985 portion of the 1985-86 Regular
40Session of the Legislature, at the 1990 portion of the 1989-90
P3 1Regular Session of the Legislature, at the 2000 portion of the
21999-2000 Regular Session of the Legislature, or at the 2011
3portion of the 2011-12 Regular Session of the Legislature, or at
4the 2015 portion of
the 2015-16 Regular Session of the Legislature,
5
do not exclude the discovery or use of relevant evidence in a
6criminal action.
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