Confidential patient safety information threatened in court case

An intermediate level appellate court in Florida last year held that patient safety information can be shielded from disclosure in a medical liability case. Now, that same case is on appeal—this time, in the Supreme Court of Florida. What happened last year In Southern Baptist Hospital of Florida, Inc. v. Charles, a trial court had ordered the release of medical documents used for patient safety and quality improvement efforts as part of litigation discovery. Then, in October of last year, a Florida district court of appeal overturned the trial court’s decision and found that health care information, which was being used for patient safety improvement efforts, was privileged from discovery. The district court of appeal held that the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (PSQIA) preempted a provision in the Florida constitution. The PSQIA enables physicians and hospitals to share medical information used for quality improvement through a patient safety organization (PSO). The data within these systems is deemed privileged under the PSQIA, with the exception of requests that state administrative agencies might make for the information. If this information is not protected from litigation discovery, it could stifle the sharing of information and impeded upon quality and patient safety improvements. PSOs were established to gather and analyze information critical to the improvement of patient safety and quality of care. The information is submitted to P...
Source: AMA Wire - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Source Type: news