(1) Each member of, or health care professional consultant to, any committee, board, group, commission, or other entity shall be immune from civil liability for any act, decision, omission, or utterance done or made in performance of his or her duties while serving as a member of or consultant to such committee, board, group, commission, or other entity established and operated for purposes of quality improvement review, evaluation, and planning in a state-licensed health care facility. Such entities must function primarily to review, evaluate, or make recommendations relating to:

(a) The duration of patient stays in health care facilities;

(b) The professional services furnished with respect to the medical, dental, psychological, podiatric, chiropractic, or optometric necessity for such services;

(c) The purpose of promoting the most efficient use of available health care facilities and services;

(d) The adequacy or quality of professional services;

(e) The competency and qualifications for professional staff privileges;

(f) The reasonableness or appropriateness of charges made by or on behalf of health care facilities; or

(g) Patient safety, including entering into contracts with patient safety organizations.

(2) Such committee, board, group, commission, or other entity must be established in accordance with state law, or in accordance with requirements of an applicable accrediting organization whose standards incorporate comparable regulations required by this state, established and duly constituted by one or more public or licensed private hospitals or behavioral health agencies, or established by a governmental agency. To be protected by this section, the act, decision, omission, or utterance may not be made or done in bad faith or with malicious intent.

History.—s. 9, ch. 2003-416; s. 2, ch. 2004-7; s. 16, ch. 2013-93.