Health Care Newsletter - Third Quarter, 2018 Edition

We created the Hinshaw Health Care Newsletter to help you stay up to date on specific medical litigation cases, as well as other legal developments and trends relevant to the health care industry. In this edition, we review an opinion from the Illinois Appellate Court which examines the parameters of the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005.

Illinois Appellate Court Ruling Clarifies Extent of Privilege Under the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act

On June 28, 2018, the Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Fourth Division issued an opinion for the case Daley v. Teruel. The decision is only the second case in Illinois to examine the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (PSQIA, "the Act"), which establishes a system of patient safety organizations (PSOs) that collect, aggregate and analyze confidential information reported to them by health care providers. Certain information collected by PSOs—known as patient safety work product—is given federal privilege and confidentiality protections under the Act. The Daley v. Teruel ruling helps to clarify (1) which documents are considered patient safety work product, and (2) the parameters of the documents to which the Act protections apply. This increased clarity may provide greater comfort to health care providers who are considering a relationship with a PSO.
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For more information, please contact Stephen Moore, Gregory Snyder or Dawn Sallerson.