Patient Safety Act Protects Hospital’s Infection Prevention Data

A patient who contracted an infection following an elective hospital procedure may not access information related to the hospital’s infection prevention guidelines, a federal court in Pennsylvania said.

Documents produced by Robert Packer Hospital’s patient safety organization for the purpose of improving patient safety fell within the federal Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act’s privilege for patient safety information, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said Sept. 26.

Copies of the hospital’s agenda, notes, and written records of quality control meeting at which infection prevention procedures were discussed also were privileged, although the hospital’s correspondence with ...