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2018 Georgia Code 31-7-130 | Car Wreck Lawyer

Link to State of Georgia Official Statute 2018 Georgia Code Annotated (sourced from legal.resource.org)
O.C.G.A. 31-7-130 Case Law from Google Scholar Amendments to OCGA 31-7-130

TITLE 31 HEALTH

Section 7. Regulation and Construction of Hospitals and Other Health Care Facilities, 31-7-1 through 31-7-412.

ARTICLE 6 PEER REVIEW GROUPS

31-7-130. Legislative intent.

It is the intent of the General Assembly to provide protection for those individuals who are members of peer review groups which evaluate the quality and efficiency of professional health care providers and to protect the confidentiality of their records.

(Code 1933, § 84-7601, enacted by Ga. L. 1980, p. 1282, § 1.)

Law reviews.

- For article, "The Shield Remains: An Overview of the Georgia Peer Review Privilege," see 11 Ga. St. B.J. 16 (2005).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Legislative intent.

- General Assembly did not intend to eliminate, through peer review immunity, a hospital's responsibility to the hospital's patients to exercise reasonable care in ensuring that medical care providers using the hospital's facilities are qualified. McCall v. Henry Med. Ctr., Inc., 250 Ga. App. 679, 551 S.E.2d 739 (2001).

Georgia peer review and medical review statutes, which establish the privilege for the proceedings and records of peer review organizations and medical review committees, also provide for immunity to participants and witnesses in such proceedings under: (1) O.C.G.A. § 31-7-130, which sets forth the intent of the Georgia General Assembly; (2) O.C.G.A. § 31-7-132(a), which provides immunity from liability for peer review; (3) O.C.G.A. §§ 31-7-133(a) and31-7-141, which provide immunity for medical review committee members from claims for damages filed by health care providers; and (4) O.C.G.A. § 31-7-143, which provides that peer review and medical review proceedings are both absolutely privileged. Patton v. St. Francis Hosp., 260 Ga. App. 202, 581 S.E.2d 551 (2003).

Purpose of hospital medical review committees.

- Purpose for establishment of hospital medical review committees is to foster delivery of quality health care services by providing a method for in-house review of clinical work performed in a hospital. Eubanks v. Ferrier, 245 Ga. 763, 267 S.E.2d 230 (1980).

No immunity for negligence when peer review not involved.

- Health care organization was not engaging in peer review, and thus, was not immune from liability for the organization's negligence under O.C.G.A. § 31-7-130, when a Medicaid patient died as the result of having been denied an operation based on allegedly negligent precertification review of the patient's case by the organization. Fulton-DeKalb Hosp. Auth. v. Dawson, 270 Ga. 376, 509 S.E.2d 28 (1998).

Cited in Fulton-DeKalb Hosp. Auth. v. Dawson, 270 Ga. 376, 509 S.E.2d 28 (1998); Patton v. St. Francis Hosp., 246 Ga. App. 4, 539 S.E.2d 526 (2000).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

- Scope and extent of protection from disclosure of medical peer review proceedings relating to claim in medical malpractice action, 69 A.L.R.5th 559.

Cases Citing O.C.G.A. § 31-7-130

Total Results: 3  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

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Emory Clinic v. Houston, 369 S.E.2d 913 (Ga. 1988).

Cited 39 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Jul 15, 1988 | 258 Ga. 434

...s the whole truth may never be known and the appellants can create an absolute barrier to discovery by asserting that the information is "relative to medical or peer review proceedings," an extremely broad construction that cannot be found in OCGA §§ 31-7-130 et seq....
...678, 681 (279 SE2d 430) (1981), this Court held that OCGA § 31-7-140 et seq., should be narrowly construed as it is in derogation of the policy favoring discovery. Although the Hollowell decision was addressing only OCGA § 31-7-140 et seq., its rationale is equally applicable to OCGA § 31-7-130 et seq....
...The "absolute embargo" construction placed on the statutes may result in an unconstitutional infringement on the rights of the appellee. The law as construed by the majority does not have a reasonable relation to the proper legislative purpose. 2. The Court of Appeals correctly refused to extend the protection of OCGA § 31-7-130 et seq., to the activities of the Waring Committee prior to March 21, 1984. Before OCGA § 31-7-130 et seq., was amended, it defined peer "review organizations" to be only those organizations that had been "established by one or more state or local trade or professional societies or associations." Ga....
...Cavanagh's status as a faculty member of the Emory University School of Medicine and a staff member at the Emory University Hospital. However, Emory University does not qualify for the protection which may be available to the committee members and their records under either OCGA § 31-7-130 et seq., or OCGA § 31-7-140 et seq. According to the legislative intent, OCGA § 31-7-130 et seq., was enacted to protect "those individuals who are members of peer review groups...[and] the confidentiality of their records." Only one group of people is protected by the statute; members of peer review committees....
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Freeman v. Piedmont Hosp., 264 Ga. 343 (Ga. 1994).

Cited 17 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Jul 11, 1994 | 444 S.E.2d 796

...OCGA § 31-7-132 (a) deals only with immunity from liability, and the fact that a plaintiff seeks to avoid an immunity defense by alleging the applicability of the malice exception does not convert the action into one "alleging violation of [OCGA §§ 31-7-130-133]" so as to provide for an exception to the confidentiality mandate....
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Fulton-DeKalb Hosp. Auth. v. Dawson, 509 S.E.2d 28 (Ga. 1998).

Cited 11 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Nov 23, 1998 | 270 Ga. 376, 98 Fulton County D. Rep. 3945

...Therefore, GMCF is not shielded from potential liability under OCGA § 31-7-132(a). Recognizing the need for confidentiality of peer review committee records, the General Assembly adopted OCGA § 31-7-132, enacted by 1975 Ga. Laws, p. 739, §§ 2, 3. The stated legislative intent, as set forth at OCGA § 31-7-130, is to "provide protection for those individuals who are members of peer review groups which evaluate the quality *31 and efficiency of professional health care providers and to protect the confidentiality of their records." That statement of legislative intent remains unchanged since its enactment....
...rocedure would be paid for by Medicaid and in communicating its decision to the provider. [5] Because the act of transmitting that information to the provider was purely *32 administrative in nature, it is not peer review activity as defined by OCGA § 31-7-130....