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‘‘(4) submit to the appropriate medical event
analysis entity information that contains descriptions
of the medical events identified under paragraph
(1)(A).
‘‘(b) PROMOTING IDENTIFICATION, EVALUATION, AND
REPORTING OF CERTAIN MEDICAL EVENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other
provision of law any information (including any
data, reports, records, memoranda, analyses, state-
ments, and other communications) developed by or on
behalf of a provider of services with respect to a med-
ical event pursuant to a system established under sub-
section (a) shall be privileged in accordance with sec-
tion 925.
‘‘(2) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this
subsection shall be construed as prohibiting—
‘‘(A) disclosure of a patient’s medical record
to the patient;
‘‘(B) a provider of services from complying
with the requirements of a health care oversight
agency or public health authority; or
‘‘(C) such an agency or authority from dis-
closing information transferred by a provider of
services to the public in a form that does not
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identify or permit the identification of the health
care provider or provider of services or patient.
‘‘SEC. 925. CONFIDENTIALITY.
‘‘(a) CONFIDENTIALITY AND PEER REVIEW PROTEC-
TIONS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law—
‘‘(1) any information (including any data, re-
ports, records, memoranda, analyses, statements, and
other communications) developed by or on behalf of a
health care provider or provider of services with re-
spect to a medical event, that is contained in the Na-
tional Patient Safety Database, collected by a medical
event analysis entity, or developed by or on behalf of
such an entity, or collected by a health care provider
or provider or services for use under systems that are
developed for safety and quality improvement pur-
poses under this part—
‘‘(A) shall be privileged, strictly confiden-
tial, and may not be disclosed by any other per-
son to which such information is transferred
without the authorization of the health care pro-
vider or provider of services; and
‘‘(B) shall—
‘‘(i) be protected from disclosure by
civil, criminal, or administrative subpoena;
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‘‘(ii) not be subject to discovery or oth-
erwise discoverable in connection with a
civil, criminal, or administrative pro-
ceeding;
‘‘(iii) not be subject to disclosure pur-
suant to section 552 of title 5, United States
Code (the Freedom of Information Act) and
any other similar Federal or State statute
or regulation; and
‘‘(iv) not be admissible as evidence in
any civil, criminal, or administrative pro-
ceeding;
without regard to whether such information is
held by the provider or by another person to
which such information was transferred;
‘‘(2) the transfer of any such information by a
provider of services to a health care oversight agency,
an expert organization, a medical event analysis enti-
ty, or a public health authority, shall not be treated
as a waiver of any privilege or protection established
under paragraph (1) or established under State law.
‘‘(b) PENALTY.—It shall be unlawful for any person
to disclose any information described in subsection (a) other
than for the purposes provided in such subsection. Any per-
son violating the provisions of this section shall, upon con-
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viction, be fined in accordance with title 18, United States
Code, and imprisoned for not more than 6 months, or both.
‘‘(c) APPLICATION OF PROVISIONS.—The protections
provided under subsection (a) and the penalty provided for
under subsection (b) shall apply to any information (in-
cluding any data, reports, memoranda, analyses, state-
ments, and other communications) collected or developed
pursuant to research, including demonstration projects,
with respect to medical error reporting supported by the
Director under this part.
‘‘SEC. 926. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this part, $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, and such sums
as may be necessary for subsequent fiscal years.’’.
SEC. 2504. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by section 2503 shall become
effective on the date of the enactment of this Act.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Departments of Labor,
Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001’’.
Attest:
Secretary.