2019 Tennessee Code
Title 68 - Health, Safety and Environmental Protection
Health
Chapter 11 - Health Facilities and Resources
Part 2 - Regulation of Health and Related Facilities
§ 68-11-211. Reporting incidents of abuse, neglect and misappropriation -- Reporting specific incidents that might result in a disruption in the delivery of health care services -- Confidentiality.
(a) As used in this section:
(1) “Abuse” means the willful infliction of injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation or punishment with resulting physical harm, pain or mental anguish;
(2) “Board” means the board for licensing health care facilities;
(3) “Commissioner” means the commissioner of health;
(4) “Department” means the department of health;
(5) “Facility” means any facility licensed under this part and any physician's office where Level III office-based surgery occurs;
(6) “Misappropriation of patient property” means the deliberate misplacement, exploitation or wrongful, temporary or permanent use of a resident's belongings or money without the resident's consent;
(7) “Neglect” means the failure to provide goods and services necessary to avoid physical harm, mental anguish or mental illness; and
(8) “Patient” means a person receiving health care services from a facility, and includes a resident at a nursing home facility.
(b) Except for those facilities required to report abuse, neglect or misappropriation pursuant to 42 CFR 483.13, each facility shall report incidents of abuse, neglect and misappropriation that occur at the facility to the department within seven (7) business days from the facility's identification of the incident.
(c) An incident report or any amended incident report obtained by the department pursuant to this section shall be confidential and not subject to discovery, subpoena or legal compulsion for release to any person or entity, nor shall the report be admissible in any civil or administrative proceeding, other than a disciplinary proceeding by the department or the appropriate regulatory board. The report is not discoverable or admissible in any civil or administrative action, except that information in the report may be transmitted to an appropriate regulatory board having jurisdiction for disciplinary or licensing sanctions against the impacted facility; however, the department must reveal, upon request, its awareness that a specific incident has been reported. The affected patient and the patient's family, as may be appropriate, shall also be notified of the incident by the facility. This subsection (c) and § 68-11-804(c)(23) shall not affect § 63-1-150 or the protections provided by § 63-1-150.
(d) Each facility shall also report specific incidents, including, but not limited to, the following that might result in a disruption in the delivery of health care services at the facility within seven (7) days after the facility becomes aware of the incident:
(1) A strike by the staff at the facility;
(2) An external disaster impacting the facility;
(3) A disruption of any service vital to the continued safe operation of the facility or to the health and safety of its patients and personnel; and
(4) Any fires at the facility that disrupt the provision of patient care services or cause harm to the patients or staff, or that are reported by the facility to any entity, including, but not limited to, a fire department charged with preventing fires.
(e) In the event that health care services are provided in the patient's home, then the facility shall only report those incidents that are witnessed or known by the person delivering health care services.
(f) The department shall have access to facility records that are allowed in part 3 of this chapter. The department may copy any portion of a facility medical record relating to the reported event, unless otherwise prohibited by rule or statute. This section and § 68-11-804(c)(23) do not change or affect the privilege and confidentiality provided by § 63-1-150.
(g) This section does not preclude the department from using information obtained under this section in a disciplinary action commenced against a facility or from taking disciplinary action against a facility. This section does not preclude the department from sharing such information with any appropriate governmental agency charged by federal or state law with regulatory oversight of the facility; however, all such information shall be confidential and not a public record. A facility's failure to report an incident of abuse, neglect or misappropriation may be grounds for disciplinary action against the facility pursuant to § 68-11-207.
(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to eliminate or alter in any manner the required reporting of abuse, neglect or exploitation of children or adults or any other provisions of title 37, chapter 1, parts 4 and 6, and title 71, chapter 6, part 1.
