How will the risk assessment report be protected against discovery in legal action?
The practice will be asked to sign a document authorizing an internal Quality Improvement / Peer Review study of risk. This provides statutory protection in most States. We also have the ability to establish Attorney-Client Privileges if needed, to further protect documents. Most importantly, risk findings are carefully written in language that does not reference the care rendered any specific patient, does not establish a standard of care or expectation of a standard of care, and focuses on system improvements. The reports and any report instruments generated in this study are considered required for insurance coverage and are deemed prejudicial by courts of law, and if requested as discoverable documents, are excluded from legal consideration due to the presumed prejudicial nature of the report.
Related Questions
- What is the States position with respect to the report issued by Avi Rubin and the risk assessment performed by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)?
- When will Prof. Diane Henshel provide her written report summarizing the risk assessment work completed by her Spring 2001 class of undergraduate students?
- Should the Screening-Level Ecological Risk Assessment be incorporated into the Remedial Investigation Report?
