STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1284-04

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: S.B. No. 2577

S.D. 1

H.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Judiciary and Consumer Protection and Commerce, to which was referred S.B. No. 2577, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PEER REVIEW,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to promote full and frank discussion of medical errors and adverse outcomes by shielding from discovery in court proceedings certain data and information compiled and submitted by a medical provider to a health care review organization through a peer review committee or hospital quality assurance committee.

Hawaii Pacific Health and the Health Care Association of Hawaii testified in support of this bill. The Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii provided comments.

This measure will enhance the quality of health care by fostering dispassionate analysis of "what went wrong" without fear that candor will result in legal liability.

 

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that the protected information and data include certain proceedings, records, summaries, and reports related to a medical error reporting system rather than a medical reporting system; and

(2) Making other technical, nonsubstantive changes for clarity and style.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Consumer Protection and Commerce that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2577, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2577, S.D. 1, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Judiciary and Consumer Protection and Commerce,

 

____________________________

KENNETH T. HIRAKI, Chair

____________________________

ERIC G. HAMAKAWA, Chair