CONFIDENTIALITY; PRIVILEGE

(a) Any information pertaining to the investigation of an anesthesia-related death or incident is confidential. (b) Confidential information that is acquired by the board and that includes identifying information of an individual or health care provider is privileged and may not be disclosed to any person. Information that may not be disclosed under this subsection includes: (1) the name and address of a patient or a member of the patient's family; and (2) the identity of a health care provider that provided any services to the patient or a member of the patient's family. (c) Advisory committee work product or information obtained or provided by the board under this subchapter is confidential. This subsection does not prevent the advisory committee or board from releasing information described by Subsection (d) or (e). (d) Information is not confidential under this section if the information is: (1) general information that cannot be connected with any specific individual, case, or health care provider; and (2) presented as aggregate statistical information that describes a single data point. (e) The advisory committee may publish statistical studies and research reports based on information that is confidential under this section, provided that the information: (1) is published in the aggregate; (2) does not identify a patient or the patient's family; (3) does not include any information that could be used to identify a patient or the patient's family; and (4) does not identify a health care provider. (f) The board shall adopt and implement practices and procedures to ensure that information that is confidential under this section is not disclosed in violation of this section. (g) Information that is confidential under this section is excepted from disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code, as provided by Section 552.101 of that chapter.