An Act To Clarify the Scope of the Maternal and Infant Death Review Panel
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1496
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: SANDERSON, SIROCKI, TURNER
Amends: 22 MRSA §261

Legislative Document
No. 1496
H.P. 1029
House of Representatives, April 20, 2017
An Act To Clarify the Scope of the Maternal and Infant Death 
Review Panel
Submitted by the Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to Joint Rule 204.
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative SANDERSON of Chelsea.
Cosponsored by Representatives: SIROCKI of Scarborough, TURNER of Burlington.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §261, as amended by PL 2009, c. 531, §1, is further amended to 
read: 
§261.  Maternal, fetal and infant mortality review panel  
The department shall establish the maternal, fetal and infant death mortality review 
panel in accordance with this section. 
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings. 
A.  "Center" means the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. 
B.  "Deceased person" means a woman who died during pregnancy or within 42 days 
of giving birth or a child who died within 1 year of birth. 
C.  "Director" means the director of the center. 
C-1.  "Family" means a woman who has experienced a fetal death or the parent or 
parents or other authorized representative of a deceased person. 
D.  "Panel" means the maternal, fetal and infant death mortality review panel 
established under this section. 
E.  "Panel coordinator" means an employee of the center who is appointed by the 
director or a person designated by the panel coordinator.  The panel coordinator must 
be a licensed physician or registered nurse or other health care professional licensed 
or registered in this State. 
2.  Membership.  The panel consists of health care and social service providers, 
public health officials, law enforcement officers and other persons with professional 
expertise on maternal and infant health and mortality.  The director shall appoint the 
members of the panel, who serve at the pleasure of the director.  The director shall 
appoint an employee of the center to serve as panel coordinator. 
3.  Contact with family.  The first contact pursuant to this section with the family 
may not occur prior to 4 months after the death and must: 
A.  Be by letter from the State Health Officer on letterhead of the center; and 
B.  Include an invitation to participate in a review of the death of the deceased person 
or the fetal death from a statewide organization dedicated to improving the health of 
babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. 
4.  Duties and powers of panel coordinator.  The panel coordinator has the 
following duties and powers. 
A.  The panel coordinator shall review the deaths of all women during pregnancy or 
within 42 days of giving birth, the majority of cases in which a fetal death occurs 
after 28 weeks of gestation and the majority of deaths of infants under 1 year of age, 
with selection of cases of infant death based on the need to review particular causes 
of death or the need to obtain a representative sample of all deaths. 
A-1.  The panel coordinator may have access to the death certificates of deceased 
persons and to fetal death certificates of fetal deaths occurring after 28 weeks of 
gestation. 
B.  Prior to accessing medical records, the panel coordinator shall obtain permission 
in all cases for access to those records from the family. 
B-1.  The panel coordinator may have access to medical records for the purposes of 
the review under paragraph A. 
C.  Prior to conducting a voluntary interview, the panel coordinator shall obtain 
permission in all cases for the interview from the family. 
D.  The panel coordinator may conduct voluntary interviews with the family.  The 
purpose of the voluntary interview is limited to gathering information or data for the 
purposes of the panel in summary or abstract form without family names or patient 
identifiers.  A person who conducts interviews under this paragraph must meet the 
qualifications for panel coordinator and also have professional experience or training 
in bereavement services.  A person conducting an interview under this paragraph may 
make a referral for bereavement counseling. 
E.  The panel coordinator shall prepare a summary or abstract of relevant information 
regarding the case, as determined to be useful to the panel, but without the name or 
identifier of the deceased person or the woman who experienced a fetal death, and 
shall present the summary or abstract to the panel. 
5.  Duties and powers of panel.  The panel has the following duties and powers. 
A.  The panel shall conduct comprehensive multidisciplinary reviews of data 
presented by the panel coordinator. 
B.  The panel shall present an annual report to the department and to the joint 
standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health and human 
services matters.  The report must identify factors contributing to maternal, fetal and 
infant death in the State, determine the strengths and weaknesses of the current 
maternal and infant health care delivery system and make recommendations to the 
department to decrease the rate of maternal, fetal and infant death. 
The panel shall offer a copy of the annual report to the person or persons that granted 
permission to the panel coordinator for a voluntary interview under subsection 4, 
paragraph C. 
C.  The panel shall share the results of its data reviews and recommendations with the 
child death and serious injury review panel established pursuant to section 4004, 
subsection 1, paragraph E.  The maternal, fetal and infant death mortality review 
panel may request and review data from the child death and serious injury review 
panel, regardless of any prior work by the child death and serious injury review 
panel. 
6.  Limitations.  The panel coordinator may not proceed with reviews of medical 
records or voluntary interviews without the permission of the family.  The panel 
coordinator may not photocopy or retain copies of medical records or review cases of 
abortion.  In performing work under this section, the panel coordinator shall minimize the 
burden imposed on health care practitioners, hospitals and facilities. 
7.  Confidentiality.  All records created or maintained pursuant to this section, other 
than reports provided under subsection 5, paragraph B, are protected as provided in this 
subsection.  The records are confidential under section 42, subsection 5.  The records are 
not open to public inspection, are not public records for the purposes of Title 1, chapter 
13, subchapter 1 and are not subject to subpoena or civil process nor admissible in 
evidence in connection with any judicial, executive, legislative or other proceeding. 
8.  Immunity.  A health care practitioner, hospital or health care facility or the 
employee or agent of that person or entity is not subject to civil or criminal liability 
arising from the disclosure or furnishing of records or information to the panel pursuant 
to this section. 
9.  Funding.  The department may accept any public or private funds to carry out the 
purposes of this section. 
10.  Rulemaking.  The department shall adopt rules to implement this section, 
including rules on collecting information and data, selecting members of the panel, 
collecting and using individually identifiable health information and conducting reviews 
under this section.  The rules must ensure that access to individually identifiable health 
information is restricted as much as possible while enabling the panel to accomplish its 
work.  The rules must establish a protocol to preserve confidentiality, specify the manner 
in which the family will be contacted for permission and maintain public confidence in 
the protection of individually identifiable information.  Rules adopted pursuant to this 
subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
SUMMARY 
This bill changes the name of the maternal and infant death review panel to the 
maternal, fetal and infant mortality review panel and allows the panel coordinator access 
to medical records for the purposes of conducting a review without having to obtain 
permission in all cases.