Health Care - As enacted, specifies that a good faith disclosure of information related to an activity of a quality improvement committee (QIC) made by a healthcare provider or healthcare organization to a patient or a f, the official text

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~tate of \ltennessee

PUBLIC CHAPTER NO. 1019

                                                  HOUSE BILL NO. 2259

                            By Representatives Helton-Haynes, Williams, Chism

                                       Substituted for: Senate Bill No. 2413

                               By Senators Watson, Bowling, Reeves, Stevens

          AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 68, Chapter 11, relative to quality
improvement committees.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:

          SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-11-272(b), is amended by adding
the following as new, appropriately designated subdivisions:

                    ( ) "Adverse healthcare incident" means an objective and definable outcome
          arising from or related to patient care that results in the death or injury of a patient;

                    ( ) "Open discussion":

                              (A) Means any communication that is made under this section and
                    includes memoranda, work product, documents, and other materials that are
                    prepared for, or submitted in the course of or in connection with, communications
                    under this section; and

                              (B) Does not include any communications, memoranda, work product,
                    documents, or other materials that are otherwise subject to discovery and that
                    were not prepared specifically for use pursuant to this subdivision (b)( );

          SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-11-272(c), is amended by adding
the following as new subdivisions:

                    (4) A good faith disclosure of information related to an activity of a QIC made by
          a healthcare provider or healthcare organization to a patient or family member of a
          patient in an open discussion is not a waiver of the privilege and confidentiality
          protections provided under this section. Such disclosures are considered separate and
          apart from a QIC proceeding and do not affect the privilege attributed to the QIC
          documentation.

                    (5)

                              (A) A healthcare provider and healthcare organization are not required to
                    disclose findings, determinations, or conclusions of a QIC during a legal,
                    administrative, or other proceeding.

                              (B) The outcomes from the QIC review must remain confidential and
                    privileged unless otherwise provided by state or federal law, in which case, the
                    disclosure of any QIC proceeding materials, findings, or conclusions made solely
                    to comply with state or federal law does not waive the confidentiality, privilege, or
                    the restricted use of QIC materials, findings, or conclusions as prohibited in this
                    section.

                    (6)

                              (A) A healthcare provider or healthcare organization may voluntarily
                    engage in an open discussion. Any communications during an open discussion
                    are not an admission of liability and are protected from discovery, as described in
                    subdivision (c)(1 ).
HB2259

                             (B) A healthcare provider or healthcare organization may engage in
                   voluntary communications, as described in subdivision (c)(6)(A), and is immune
                   from liability as a result of the open discussion as long as the communication is
                   undertaken in good faith and in compliance with subdivision (c)(7).
                    (7)

                             (A) If an adverse healthcare incident occurs, then a healthcare provider or
                   healthcare organization may elect to engage in an open discussion with a patient
                   or invite a patient to participate in the open discussion with the purpose of
                   addressing the incident and proposing resolutions. In a situation where the
                   patient is incapacitated or deceased, a healthcare provider or a healthcare
                   organization may engage in an open discussion with a patient's family member or
                   legal representative. For a minor patient, the open discussion must include the
                   patient's guardian.

                             (B) The following conditions apply to an open discussion pursuant to
                   subdivision (c)(7)(A):

                                       (i) Any communication made during the open discussion process
                             is:

                                                 (a) Privileged and confidential; and
                                                 (b) Not subject to discovery, subpoena, or use as evidence
                                       in any judicial, administrative, or arbitration proceeding;
                                       (ii) An individual with whom a healthcare provider or healthcare
                             organization engages in the open discussion process following an
                             adverse healthcare incident, including a patient and any other affected
                             person, must sign a written acknowledgment after an adverse healthcare
                             incident occurs before an open discussion takes place; and
                                       (iii) Unless otherwise agreed upon by the patient, only a party
                             involved in the adverse healthcare : incident and the party's
                             representatives, including legal counsel, may participate in the open
                             discussion process.
         SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.

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         HOUSE BILL NO. 2259

PASSED:  April 15, 2026

                                     •

                             CAMERON SEXTON, SPEAKER
                             HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

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                             '         RANDY M\NALLY
                                       SPEAKER OF THE SENATE

APPROVED this (Cf ti.. day of (Vh 1~,  2026

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BILL LEE, GOVERNOR