Patient safety law protects some documents in court case
An opinion by New Jersey judges provides a clearer outline on documenting poor medical outcomes.
By ALICIA GALLEGOS, amednews staff. Posted Aug. 29, 2012.
A New Jersey appellate court has upheld as constitutional a state law that protects the confidentiality of documents related to medical errors in order to improve patient safety.
The court clarified how broadly such protection extends, saying investigative and analytical material created in compliance with the New Jersey Patient Safety Act is “absolutely protected.” However, documents generated for other purposes are subject to existing discovery rules.
For doctors and hospitals, the ruling is an educational guideline for how best to structure Patient Safety Act processes within health facilities, said Melinda Martinson, assistant general counsel for the Medical Society of New Jersey, which was not involved in the case.
“The bottom line is physicians need to know whether they’re strictly within the confines of the [Patient Safety Act] procedures,” she said. “It is possible that those involved in a PSA evaluation could believe that their discussions are confidential, but later found to be discoverable in litigation because the hospital process was flawed or the material was used for another purpose.”
The case stems from a lawsuit filed by Esther Applegrad against Ridgewood, N.J.-based Valley Hospital and several physicians and nurses. Applegrad claimed that negligent actions by hospital staff caused her daughter’s brain damage. One doctor was dismissed from the suit after settling with the plaintiff