2012 Vermont Statutes
Title 18 Health
Chapter 30 MATERNAL MORTALITY REVIEW PANEL
§ 1553 Duties

§ 1553. Duties

(a) The panel, in collaboration with the commissioner of health or designee, shall conduct comprehensive, multidisciplinary reviews of maternal mortality in Vermont.

(b) Each member of the panel shall be responsible for disseminating panel recommendations to his or her respective institution and professional organization, as applicable. All such information shall be disseminated through the institution's or organization's quality assurance program in order to protect the confidentiality of all participants and patients involved in any incident.

(c) On or before January 15 of each year, the commissioner of health shall submit a report to the house committees on health care and on human services and the senate committee on health and welfare containing at least the following information:

(1) a description of the adverse events reviewed by the panel during the preceding 12 months, including statistics and causes;

(2) corrective action plans to address, in the aggregate, such adverse events; and

(3) recommendations for system changes and legislation relating to the delivery of health care in Vermont.

(d) The panel shall not:

(1) Call witnesses or take testimony from any individual involved in the investigation of a maternal death.

(2) Enforce any public health standard or criminal law or otherwise participate in any legal proceeding, except to the extent that a member of the panel is involved in the investigation of a maternal death or resulting prosecution and must participate in a legal proceeding in the course of performing his or her duties outside the panel. (Added 2011, No. 35, § 2, eff. May 18, 2011.)