Opinion
No. CV01-0166034S
August 5, 2004
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION RE MOTION TO QUASH SUBPOENA (#135) AND MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER (#135.50)
The defendant, through the manager of Medical Staff Services at Waterbury Hospital, has objected to the plaintiff's discovery requests claiming that the documents sought are privileged pursuant to General Statutes § 19a-17b, the peer review statute. On April 26, 2004, the court held a hearing on the objection. During the hearing, the defendant offered to provide the court with the peer review file, for the court to review the documents submitted by the defendant to determine whether any privilege prevented their disclosure.
General Statutes § 19a-17b creates a statutory privilege for the nondisclosure to a claimant in a medical malpractice action of the records of a medical review committee conducting a peer review. See Babcock v. Bridgeport Hospital, 251 Conn. 790 (1999). In Babcock, the Connecticut Supreme Court defined the precise scope of the peer review privilege provided by § 19a-17b. The court determined that the privilege encompasses the substantive discussions and conclusions of a medical review committee engaged in peer review and extends to those documents created principally for the purpose of peer review. Id., 823-24. The privilege does not embrace documents or information generated independently of the peer review process. Id., 822. See also Connecticut General Statutes § 19a-17b(d)(1) and (2).
After conducting an in-camera review of the documents submitted under seal by the defendant, the court orders that the documents set forth in Schedule A be disclosed to the plaintiff.
With respect to those documents not listed in Schedule A, each of these documents was created by a medical review committee engaged in the process of peer review. The data contained in those documents was collected principally for the purpose of peer review and was not compiled independent of the peer review process. Those documents and the data they contain are therefore privileged pursuant to General Statutes § 19a-17b. CT Page 11232-ak
SCHEDULE A
1. Addendum — Bylaws, Rules and Regulations — 4 pages
2. Physician Profile — 1 page
3. Certificate of The American Board of Plastic Surgery issued 8/27/01 — 1 page
4. Certificate of The American Board of Plastic Surgery issued 11/8/97 — 1 page
5. Letter from the American Board of Plastic Surgery, dated 11/8/97 — 1 page
6. Letter to Waterbury Hospital from Stanley J. Foster MD, dated 9/18/97
7. Letter from Sandi Mattson, Medical Staff Coordinator to Stanley Foster MD, dated 6/27/95
8. Letter from Stanley J. Foster MD to Dr. Wilfred Brown, dated 2/21/02
9. Letter from Atty. Thomas Rush to Steven Eisen MD, dated 5/3/01
10. Waterbury Hospital "Physicians Selected by Sandi Mattson, by DRG, November 1999 Through September 2000." — 2 pages
11. Procedure Tally — Report 5547, July 1, 1999 to August 31, 2000 — 10 pages
12. 1999-2000 history — Foster, Stanley MD — 2000 Blood Utilization 1/00 1 case — 1 page
13. Physician Profile — 1 page
14. DRG Summary by Physician dated 5/21/99 — 2 pages
15. Procedure Tally — Report 5547 7/1/98-6/30/99 — 8 pages
16. Procedure Tally — Report 5547 7/1/97-6/30/98 — 6 pages
17. Primary Procedure Tally, January 1996 to March 1996 — 4 pages CT Page 11232-al
CT Page 11232-am