As used in the Review Organization Immunity Act:

A. "person" means any individual, corporation, partnership, firm or other entity;

B. "health care provider" means any person licensed by the state or permitted by law to provide health care services;

C. "health care services" means services rendered by a health care provider of the type the health care provider is licensed or permitted to provide;

D. "staff" means the members of the governing board, officers and employees of a health care provider which is not an individual; and

E. "review organization" means an organization whose membership is limited to health care providers and staff, except where otherwise provided for by state or federal law, and which is established by a health care provider which is a hospital, by one or more state or local associations of health care providers, by a nonprofit health care plan, by a health maintenance organization, by an emergency medical services system or provider as defined in the Emergency Medical Services Act [24-10B-1 to 24-10B-11 NMSA 1978], or by a professional standards review organization established pursuant to 42 U.S.C., Section 1320c-1 et seq. to gather and review information relating to the care and treatment of patients for the purposes of:

(1) evaluating and improving the quality of health care services rendered in the area or by a health care provider;

(2) reducing morbidity or mortality;

(3) obtaining and disseminating statistics and information relative to the treatment and prevention of diseases, illnesses and injuries;

(4) developing and publishing guidelines showing the norms of health care services in the area or by health care providers;

(5) developing and publishing guidelines designed to keep within reasonable bounds the cost of health care services;

(6) reviewing the nature, quality or cost of health care services provided to enrollees of health maintenance organizations and nonprofit health care plans;

(7) acting as a professional standards review organization pursuant to 42 U.S.C., Section 1320c-1, et seq.; or

(8) determining whether a health care provider shall be granted authority to provide health care services using the health care provider's facilities or whether a health care provider's privileges should be limited, suspended or revoked.

History: Laws 1979, ch. 169, § 2; 1993, ch. 161, § 12.

The 1993 amendment, effective June 18, 1993, inserted "by an emergency medical services system or provider as defined in the Emergency Medical Services Act" in the introductory language of Subsection E.