Senate Bill 777 Summary

• Creates confidentiality protections for quality improvement committee proceedings and records within the Division of Developmental Disabilities Services and nonprofit community programs.

• Committee proceedings, minutes, records, reports, and testimony are not subject to discovery under Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure, the Freedom of Information Act, or admissible in legal proceedings.

• Protects committee members from liability for actions taken within the scope of committee functions if performed without malice or fraud.

• Exempts original provider records, incident reports, patient treatment records, and operating budgets from confidentiality protections and allows access by state and federal regulatory agencies.

• Requires physicians, administrators, nurses, therapists, and other staff to provide relevant information about care quality to quality improvement committees upon request.