Okla. Stat. tit. 63, § 63-1-1709.1: Peer review information

A. As used in this section:

1. "Credentialing or recredentialing data" means:

a. the application submitted by a health care

professional requesting appointment or reappointment

to the medical staff of a health care entity or

requesting clinical privileges or other permission to

provide health care services at a health care entity,

b. any information submitted by the health care

professional in support of such application,

c. any information, unless otherwise privileged, obtained

by the health care entity during the credentialing or

recredentialing process regarding such application,

and

d. the decision made by the health care entity regarding

such application;

2. "Credentialing or recredentialing process" means any

process, program or proceeding utilized by a health care entity to

assess, review, study or evaluate the credentials of a health care

professional;

3. "Health care entity" means:

a. any hospital or related institution offering or

providing health care services under a license issued

pursuant to Section 1-706 of this title,

b. any ambulatory surgical center offering or providing

health care services under a license issued pursuant

to Section 2660 of this title,

c. the clinical practices of accredited allopathic and

osteopathic state medical schools, and

d. any other entity directly involved in the delivery of

health care services that engages in a credentialing

or peer review process;

4. "Health care professional" means any person authorized to

practice allopathic medicine and surgery, osteopathic medicine,

podiatric medicine, optometry, chiropractic, psychology, dentistry,

or a dental specialty, a physician assistant, or an advanced

practice registered nurse under a license issued pursuant to Title

59 of the Oklahoma Statutes;

5. "Peer review information" means all records, documents and

other information generated during the course of a peer review

process, including any reports, statements, memoranda,

correspondence, record of proceedings, materials, opinions,

findings, conclusions and recommendations, credentialing data and

recredentialing data, but does not include:

a. the medical records of a patient whose health care in

a health care entity is being reviewed,

b. incident reports and other like documents regarding

health care services being reviewed, regardless of how

the reports or documents are titled or captioned,

c. the identity of any individuals who have personal

knowledge regarding the facts and circumstances

surrounding the patient's health care in the health

care entity,

d. factual statements regarding the patient's health care

in the health care entity from any individuals who

have personal knowledge regarding the facts and

circumstances surrounding the patient's health care,

which factual statements were generated outside the

peer review process,

e. the identity of all documents and raw data previously

created elsewhere and considered during the peer

review process, or

f. copies of all documents and raw data previously

created elsewhere and considered during the peer

review process, whether available elsewhere or not;

and

6. "Peer review process" means any process, program or

proceeding, including a credentialing or recredentialing process,

utilized by a health care entity or county medical society to

assess, review, study or evaluate the credentials, competence,

professional conduct or health care services of a health care

professional.

B. 1. Peer review information shall be private, confidential

and privileged except that a health care entity or county medical

society shall be permitted to provide relevant peer review

information to the state agency or board which licensed the health

care professional who provided the health care services being

e,

professional conduct or health care services of a health care

professional.

B. 1. Peer review information shall be private, confidential

and privileged except that a health care entity or county medical

society shall be permitted to provide relevant peer review

information to the state agency or board which licensed the health

care professional who provided the health care services being

reviewed in a peer review process or who is the subject of a

credentialing or recredentialing process, with notice to the health

care professional.

2. Nothing in this section shall be construed to abrogate,

alter or affect any provision in the Oklahoma Statutes which

provides that information regarding liability insurance of a health

care entity or health care professional is not discoverable or

admissible.

C. In any civil action in which a patient or patient's legal

representative has alleged that the patient has suffered injuries

resulting from negligence by a health care professional in providing

health care services to the patient in a health care entity, factual

statements, presented during a peer review process utilized by such

health care entity, regarding the patient's health care in the

health care entity from individuals who have personal knowledge of

the facts and circumstances surrounding the patient's health care

shall not be subject to discovery.

D. 1. In any civil action in which a patient or patient's

legal representative has alleged that the health care entity was

independently negligent as a result of permitting the health care

professional to provide health care services to the patient in the

health care entity, the credentialing and recredentialing data, and

the recommendations made and action taken as a result of any peer

review process utilized by such health care entity regarding the

health care professional prior to the date of the alleged negligence

shall be subject to discovery pursuant to the Oklahoma Discovery

Code.

2. Any information discovered pursuant to this subsection:

a. shall not be admissible as evidence until a judge or

jury has first found the health care professional to

have been negligent in providing health care services

to the patient in such health care entity, and

b. shall not at any time include the identity or means by

which to ascertain the identity of any other patient

or health care professional.

E. No person involved in a peer review process may be permitted

or required to testify regarding the peer review process in any

civil proceeding or disclose by responses to written discovery

requests any peer review information.