106 STAT. 5072 PUBLIC LAW 102-587 —NOV. 4, 1992 SEC. 5203. CONFIDENTIALnY OF MEDICAL RECORDS. (a) Title 14, United States Code is amended by inserting after section 644 the following new section:
- § 645. Confidentiality of medical quality assurance records;
qualified immunity for participants "(a) In this section— "(1) 'medical quality assurance program' means any activity carried out by or for the Coast Guard to assess the (quality of medical care, including activities conducted by individuals, military medical or dentel treatment facility committees, or other review bodies responsible for quality assurance, credentials, infection control, patient care assessment (including treatment procedures, blood, drugs, and therapeutics) medical records, health resoiirces management review and identification and prevention of medical or dental incidents and risks. (2) 'medical quality assurance record' means the proceedings, records, minutes, and reports that emanate from quality assurance program activities described in paragraph (1) and are produced or compiled by the Coast Guard as part of a medical quaUty assurance program. "(3) 'health care provider^ means any military or civiliem health care professional who, under regulations prescribed by the Secretary, is granted clinical practice privileges to provide health care services in a military medical or dental treatment facility or who is licensed or certified to perform health care services by a governmental board or agency or professional health care society or organization. "(b) Medical quality assurance records created by or for the Coast Guard as part of a medical quality assurance program are confidential and privileged. The records may not be disclosed to any person or entity except as provided in subsection (d). (c)(1) Medical quality assurance records are not subject to discovery and may not be admitted into evidence in any judicial or administrative proceeding, except as provided in subsection (d). "(2) Except as provided in tnis section, an individual who reviews or creates medical quality assurance records for the Coast Guard or who participates in any proceeding that reviews or creates the records may not testify in any judicial or administrative proceeding with respect to the records or with respect to any finding, recommendation, evcduation, opinion, or action taken by that person in connection with the records. "(d)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a medical quality assurance record may be disclosea, and an individual referrea to in subsection (c) may testify in connection with a record only as follows: "(A) To a Federal executive agency or private organization, if necessai^ to license, accredit, or monitor Coast Guard health care facilities. "(B) To an administrative or judicial proceeding commenced by a present or former Coast Guard or Coast Guard assigned Public Health Service health care provider concerning the termination, suspension, or limitation of clinical privileges of the health care provider. "(C) To a governmental board or agency or to a professional health care society or organization, if necessary to perform licensing, or privileging, or to monitor professional standards for a health care provider who is or was a member or an
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