TITLE XI
HOSPITALS AND SANITARIA

Chapter 151-G
NEW HAMPSHIRE HEALTH CARE QUALITY AND SAFETY PATIENT COMMISSION

Section 151-G:1

    151-G:1 Commission Established; Membership. –
I. There is established a commission to review and analyze quality of care issues including, but not limited to, medical errors, unexpected adverse outcomes, and near misses, and to propose changes to improve health care.
II. The members of the commission shall be as follows:
(a) One representative of each hospital in New Hampshire, licensed under RSA 151, nominated by the hospital and appointed by the governor.
(b) One representative of each freestanding ambulatory surgical center in New Hampshire, nominated by the ambulatory surgical center and appointed by the governor.
(c) The commissioner of the department of health and human services, or designee.
(d) The state epidemiologist, department of health and human services, or designee.
(e) The chief executive officer of the New Hampshire hospital, or designee.
(f) Three members-at-large, one member appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, one member appointed by the president of the senate, and one member appointed by the governor.

Source. 2005, 157:2, eff. Aug. 20, 2005. 2006, 292:2, eff. July 1, 2007. 2010, 98:1, eff. May 26, 2010. 2016, 167:2, eff. June 3, 2016. 2019, 222:2, eff. July 12, 2019.

Section 151-G:2

    151-G:2 Duties. – The commission shall review and analyze quality care issues including, but not limited to, medical errors, unexpected adverse outcomes, and near misses, and it shall propose changes that will improve health care. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, reviews and reports currently required by or submitted to state or national regulatory and accrediting organizations.

Source. 2005, 157:2, eff. Aug. 20, 2005.

Section 151-G:3

    151-G:3 Chair; Vice-Chair. – The members of the commission shall elect a chair and vice-chair from among the members at the first meeting. The term of the chair and vice-chair shall be 2 years and until successors are elected. The chair shall be responsible for the orderly proceedings of the commission meetings and for compliance with mandates of this chapter. The vice-chair shall serve in the absence of the chair.

Source. 2005, 157:2, eff. Aug. 20, 2005. 2019, 222:3, eff. July 12, 2019.

Section 151-G:4

    151-G:4 Education. – Each member of the commission shall be responsible for the dissemination of commission discussions to his or her respective institutions. All such information shall be disseminated through each participant's quality assurance program in order to protect the confidentiality of all participants and patients involved in any incident or topic discussed.

Source. 2005, 157:2, eff. Aug. 20, 2005.

Section 151-G:5

    151-G:5 Confidentiality. – All information of any type submitted to or collected by the commission, including, but not limited to, written, oral, and electronic information; records and proceedings of the commission, including, but not limited to, oral testimony and discussions, notes, minutes, summaries, analyses, and reports; and information disseminated by the commission or its members to hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers, shall be confidential and privileged and shall be protected from direct or indirect means of discovery, subpoena, or admission into evidence in any judicial, administrative, or other type of proceeding. The provision of information to the commission and the dissemination of information by the commission shall not be deemed to void, waive, or impair in any manner the confidentiality protection of this section or which the information may have under any other law or regulation. However, information, documents, or records otherwise available from original sources shall not be construed as immune from discovery or use in any civil or administrative action merely because they were presented to the commission. Furthermore, any person who supplies information to or testifies before the commission shall not be immune from discovery in such civil or administrative action because the information or testimony was presented to the commission, but such witness shall not be asked about and shall not provide information about his or her testimony before this commission or opinions formed by him or her as a result of commission participation.

Source. 2005, 157:2, eff. Aug. 20, 2005. 2019, 222:4, eff. July 12, 2019.

Section 151-G:6

    151-G:6 Administration. – The commission may delegate to the Foundation for Healthy Communities the functions of collecting, analyzing, and disseminating quality assurance information, organizing and convening meetings of the commission, and other substantive and administrative tasks as may be incident to these activities or directed by the commission. The activities of the Foundation for Healthy Communities and its employees or agents shall be subject to the same confidentiality provisions as those that apply to the commission.

Source. 2005, 157:2, eff. Aug. 20, 2005.

Section 151-G:7

    151-G:7 Reports. – On or before June 1 of each year, the commission shall report its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation to the speaker of the house of representatives, the senate president, the governor, and the health and human services oversight committee established in RSA 126-A:13. Such report shall describe the activities of the commission, indicate the extent of each institution's participation, state the aggregate relative frequency of the causes of the medical errors, unexpected adverse outcomes, and near misses reviewed and, to the extent possible, identify strategies for reducing preventable adverse events. Any information about processes or clinical outcomes provided pursuant to this section shall be aggregate data only and shall not reference individual incidents, patients, health care providers, or institutions.

Source. 2005, 157:2, eff. Aug. 20, 2005. 2010, 98:2, eff. May 26, 2010.

Section 151-G:8

    151-G:8 Rulemaking. – The commissioner of health and human services, with the advice and consent of a majority of members of the commission, shall adopt rules pursuant to RSA 541-A, to assure de-identification of all individuals and facilities involved in the cases reviewed.

Source. 2005, 157:2, eff. Aug. 20, 2005.