NRS439.875. Patient safety committee: Establishment; composition; meetings; duties; proceedings and records are privileged.

      1.  A medical facility shall establish a patient safety committee.

      2.  Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3:

      (a) A patient safety committee established pursuant to subsection 1 must be composed of:

             (1) The infection control officer of the medical facility.

             (2) The patient safety officer of the medical facility, if he or she is not designated as the infection control officer of the medical facility.

             (3) At least three providers of health care who treat patients at the medical facility, including, without limitation, at least one member of the medical, nursing and pharmaceutical staff of the medical facility.

             (4) One member of the executive or governing body of the medical facility.

      (b) A patient safety committee shall meet at least once each month.

      3.  The Administrator shall adopt regulations prescribing the composition and frequency of meetings of patient safety committees at medical facilities having fewer than 25 employees and contractors.

      4.  A patient safety committee shall:

      (a) Receive reports from the patient safety officer pursuant to NRS 439.870.

      (b) Evaluate actions of the patient safety officer in connection with all reports of sentinel events alleged to have occurred at the medical facility.

      (c) Review and evaluate the quality of measures carried out by the medical facility to improve the safety of patients who receive treatment at the medical facility.

      (d) Review and evaluate the quality of measures carried out by the medical facility to prevent and control infections at the medical facility.

      (e) Make recommendations to the executive or governing body of the medical facility to reduce the number and severity of sentinel events and infections that occur at the medical facility.

      (f) At least once each calendar quarter, report to the executive or governing body of the medical facility regarding:

             (1) The number of sentinel events that occurred at the medical facility during the preceding calendar quarter;

             (2) The number and severity of infections that occurred at the medical facility during the preceding calendar quarter; and

             (3) Any recommendations to reduce the number and severity of sentinel events and infections that occur at the medical facility.

      (g) Adopt patient safety checklists and patient safety policies as required by NRS 439.877, review the checklists and policies annually and revise the checklists and policies as the patient safety committee determines necessary.

      5.  The proceedings and records of a patient safety committee are subject to the same privilege and protection from discovery as the proceedings and records described in NRS 49.265.

      (Added to NRS by 2002 Special Session, 15; A 2011, 679, 1584)