Hospital’s Self-Critical Reporting Is Privileged: N.J. Court

A hospital’s self-critical analysis of a patient incident is shielded from discovery in a medical malpractice action, a state high court said.

Documents and reports produced by hospitals as “self-critical analysis” meant to improve processes to protect patient safety are privileged and do not have to be turned over to plaintiffs in medical malpractice actions, the Supreme Court of New Jersey found July 25.

Nearly every state has a peer-review or self-critical analysis privilege that enables health-care providers to study and report adverse incidents to improve care. In this case, the hospital’s procedural compliance with the state privilege law helped ...