HB 2712

                                                PRINTER'S NO.   3794
                THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
                    HOUSE BILL
                    No. 2712
                                          Session of
                                            2026
INTRODUCED BY BONNER, KAUFFMAN AND ZIMMERMAN, JULY 24, 2026
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE, JULY 24, 2026
                               AN ACT
1 Amending the act of July 20, 1974 (P.L.564, No.193), entitled
2    "An act providing for the increased use of peer review groups
3    by giving protection to individuals and data who report to
4    any review group," further providing for definitions and for
5    confidentiality of review organization's records.
6    The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
7 hereby enacts as follows:
8    Section 1.    Sections 2 and 4 of the act of July 20, 1974
9 (P.L.564, No.193), known as the Peer Review Protection Act, are
10 amended to read:
11    Section 2.    Definitions.--As used in this act:
12    "Peer review" means the procedure for evaluation by
13 professional health care providers [of] who possess credentials
14 equal to or greater than the credentials of the professional
15 health care providers being evaluated concerning the quality and
16 efficiency of services ordered or performed by other
17 professional health care providers, including practice analysis,
18 inpatient hospital and extended care facility utilization
19 review, medical audit, ambulatory [care] practice review, claims
20 review, [and the compliance of a hospital, nursing home or
1 convalescent home or other health care facility] quality
2 improvement review, evaluation of professional health care
3 provider qualifications and clinical activities for
4 credentialing purposes, professional health care provider
5 performance and clinical competency review, morbidity and
6 mortality review and other compliance review of a hospital,
7 nursing home or convalescent home or other health care facility
8 or service operated by a professional health care provider with
9 the standards set by an association of health care providers and
10 with applicable laws, rules and regulations. Peer review, as it
11 applies to veterinarians, shall mean the procedure for
12 evaluation by licensed doctors of veterinary medicine of the
13 quality and efficiency of veterinary medicine ordered or
14 performed by other doctors of veterinary medicine with the
15 standards set by an association of doctors of veterinary
16 medicine and with applicable laws, rules and regulations.
17    "Professional association" includes medical, veterinary,
18 psychological, nursing, dental, optometric, pharmaceutical,
19 chiropractic, podiatric organizations and other professional
20 health care provider organizations having as members at least a
21 majority of the eligible licentiates in the area or health care
22 facility or agency served by the particular association.
23    "Professional health care provider" means:
24    (1)   individuals or organizations who are approved, licensed
25 or otherwise regulated, educated or trained to practice or
26 operate in the health care field under the laws of the
27 Commonwealth or the state in which the professional health care
28 provider is employed, practices medicine or resides, including,
29 but not limited to, the following individuals or organizations:
30    (i)   a physician;
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1    (ii)    a dentist;
2    (iii)    a podiatrist;
3    (iv)    a chiropractor;
4    (v)    an optometrist;
5    (vi)    a psychologist;
6    (vii)    a pharmacist;
7    (viii)    a registered or practical nurse;
8    (ix)    a physical therapist;
9    (x)    an administrator of a hospital, nursing or convalescent
10 home or other health care facility; [or]
11    (xi)    a corporation or other organization operating a
12 hospital, nursing or convalescent home or other health care
13 facility; [or]
14    (xii)    a respiratory therapist;
15    (xiii)    a certified nurse midwife;
16    (xiv)    a certified nurse practitioner;
17    (xv)    a physician assistant;
18    (xvi)    a health care student;
19    (xvii)    an ambulatory surgical facility;
20    (xviii)    an administrator of a hospital, nursing or
21 convalescent home or other health care facility;
22    (xix)    a corporation or system of corporations or other
23 organization operating a hospital, nursing or convalescent home
24 or other health care facility; or
25    (xx)    an integrated health system;
26    (2)    individuals licensed to practice veterinary medicine
27 under the laws of this Commonwealth[.] or the state in which the
28 professional health care provider is employed, practices
29 medicine or resides;
30    (3)    a corporation or other organization employing
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1 individuals listed in paragraph (1) which operates one or more
2 professional medical or dental group practices but is not
3 approved, licensed or otherwise regulated to practice or operate
4 in the health care field under the laws of this Commonwealth or
5 the state in which the professional health care provider is
6 employed, practices medicine or resides; or
7    (4)   an individual, corporation or other organization which
8 employs or otherwise contracts with any person under paragraph
9 (1) to provide professional health care services, including
10 peer review services, on behalf of a professional health care
11 provider.
12    ["Professional society" includes medical, veterinary,
13 psychological, nursing, dental, optometric, pharmaceutical,
14 chiropractic and podiatric organizations   having as members at
15 least a majority of the eligible licentiates in the area or
16 health care facility or agency served by the particular society.
17    "Review organization" means any committee engaging in peer
18 review, including a hospital utilization review committee, a
19 hospital tissue committee, a health insurance review committee,
20 a hospital plan corporation review committee, a professional
21 health service plan review committee, a dental review committee,
22 a physicians' advisory committee, a veterinary review committee,
23 a nursing advisory committee, any committee established pursuant
24 to the medical assistance program, and any committee established
25 by one or more State or local professional societies, to gather
26 and review information relating to the care and treatment of
27 patients for the purposes of (i) evaluating and improving the
28 quality of health care rendered; (ii) reducing morbidity or
29 mortality; or (iii) establishing and enforcing guidelines
30 designed to keep within reasonable bounds the cost of health
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1 care. It shall also mean any hospital board, committee or
2 individual reviewing the professional qualifications or
3 activities of its medical staff or applicants for admission
4 thereto. It shall also mean a committee of an association of
5 professional health care providers reviewing the operation of
6 hospitals, nursing homes, convalescent homes or other health
7 care facilities.]
8    "Review organization" means any committee, subcommittee or
9 any individual engaging in peer review of a hospital utilization
10 review committee, hospital tissue committee, health insurance
11 review committee, hospital plan corporation review committee, a
12 professional health service plan review committee, including one
13 or more individuals engaging in quality improvement activities,
14 evaluation of professional health care provider qualifications
15 and clinical activities for credentialing purposes, provider
16 performance and clinical competency review, incident and serious
17 event report evaluation, health care trainee evaluation,
18 morbidity and mortality review, practice analysis, medical
19 audit, claims review, regulatory review, ambulatory practice
20 review, value-based program review, medical malpractice
21 prevention activities, as well as a dental review committee, a
22 physicians' advisory committee, a veterinary review committee, a
23 nursing advisory committee, any committee established under a
24 medical assistance program, including any subcommittee or
25 individual designated by the subcommittee and any committee or
26 subcommittee established by one or more State or local
27 professional societies or associations, or individual designated
28 thereby, to gather and review information relating to the care
29 and treatment of patients for the purposes of:
30    (1)   evaluating and improving the quality of health care
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1 rendered;
2    (2)   reducing morbidity or mortality;
3    (3)   health care education; or
4    (4)   establishing and enforcing guidelines designed to keep
5 within reasonable bounds the cost of health care.
6 The term shall include any hospital board, committee or
7 individual reviewing the professional qualifications, privileges
8 or activities of medical staff or applicants for admission and a
9 committee of or individual member of an association of
10 professional health care providers reviewing the operation of
11 hospitals, ambulatory care facilities, nursing homes,
12 convalescent homes or other health care facilities or health
13 care providers.
14    "Review organization records" shall include evidence of
15 files, recordings, findings, opinions, recommendations,
16 evaluations, interviews, transcripts, minutes and summaries of
17 meetings, conversations, statements, notes, materials, reports,
18 memoranda, investigative graphs and compilations, including all
19 content, and physical materials relating to peer review or
20 obtained, provided, generated or compiled by or at the direction
21 of a review organization.
22    Section 4.     Confidentiality of Review Organization's
23 Records.--[The proceedings and records of a review committee
24 shall be held in confidence and shall not be subject to
25 discovery or introduction into evidence in any civil action
26 against a professional health care provider arising out of the
27 matters which are the subject of evaluation and review by such
28 committee and no person who was in attendance at a meeting of
29 such committee shall be permitted or required to testify in any
30 such civil action as to any evidence or other matters produced
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1 or presented during the proceedings of such committee or as to
2 any findings, recommendations, evaluations, opinions or other
3 actions of such committee or any members thereof: Provided,
4 however, That information, documents or records otherwise
5 available from original sources are not to be construed as
6 immune from discovery or used in any such civil action merely
7 because they were presented during proceedings of such
8 committee, nor should any person who testifies before such
9 committee or who is a member of such committee be prevented from
10 testifying as to matters within his knowledge, but the said
11 witness cannot be asked about his testimony before such a
12 committee or opinions formed by him as a result of said
13 committee hearings.] Review organization records shall be held
14 in confidence and shall not be subject to disclosure, including
15 disclosure in discovery or introduction into evidence in any
16 civil action or administrative proceeding against a professional
17 health care provider arising out of the matters which are the
18 subject of evaluation and review by the review organization. No
19 individual who was in attendance at a meeting of the review
20 organization shall be permitted or required to testify or
21 otherwise discuss, disclose or produce in any civil action or
22 administrative proceeding as to any evidence or other matters
23 produced or presented during the proceedings of the review
24 organization or as to any findings, recommendations,
25 evaluations, opinions or other actions of the review
26 organization or any members of the review organization.
27 Information, documents or records otherwise available from
28 original sources shall not be construed as immune from discovery
29 or use in any civil action or administrative proceeding merely
30 because the information, documents or records were presented
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1 during proceedings of the review organization. No individual who
2 testifies before the review organization or who is a member of
3 the review organization may be prevented from testifying as to
4 matters otherwise independently within the individual's
5 knowledge. The witness may not be asked about the individual's
6 testimony before a review organization or opinions or
7 conclusions formed by the individual as a result of the review
8 organization activities or proceedings. The proceedings and
9 records of a review organization shall be entitled to the
10 protections under this section if the proceedings and records
11 are held in confidence, regardless of whether the records are
12 maintained in credentialing or performance files or other
13 locations reasonably associated with the peer review process.
14    Section 2.   This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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