There is no monetary liability on the part of, and no cause of action for damages arising against, a hospital licensed under this article, its parent, subsidiaries, health care system, physician practices owned by the hospital (its parent or subsidiaries), directors, officers, agents, employees, medical staff members, external reviewers, witnesses, or a member of any committee of a licensed hospital, whether permanent or ad hoc, including the hospital's governing body, for any act or proceeding undertaken or performed without malice, made after reasonable effort to obtain the facts, and the action taken was in the belief that it is warranted by the facts known, arising out of or relating to:

(1) sentinel event investigations or root cause analyses, or both, as prescribed by the joint commission or any other organization under whose accreditation a hospital is deemed to meet the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' conditions of participation;

(2) investigations into the competence or conduct of hospital employees, agents, members of the hospital's medical staff or other practitioners, relating to the quality of patient care, and any disciplinary proceedings or fair hearings related thereto, provided the medical staff operates pursuant to written bylaws that have been approved by the governing body of the hospital;

(3) quality assurance reviews;

(4) the medical staff credentialing process, provided the medical staff operates pursuant to written bylaws that have been approved by the governing body of the hospital;

(5) reports by a hospital to its insurance carriers;

(6) reviews or investigations to evaluate the quality of care provided by hospital employees, agents, members of the hospital's medical staff, or other practitioners; or

(7) reports or statements, including, but not limited to, those reports or statements to the National Practitioner Data Bank and the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners, that provide analysis or opinion (including external reviews) relating to the quality of care provided by hospital employees, agents, members of the hospital's medical staff, or other practitioners.

HISTORY: 2012 Act No. 275, Section 1, eff June 26, 2012.