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OFFICIAL
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OFFICIAL Version 1.1 July 2020
Information for members of committees
authorised under Part 7, Section 64 of the SA
Health Care Act (2008)
New Committee members must complete the Agreement form for
committee members prior to attending the Part 7 Committee
(Attachment one).
This information is also applicable to invited experts who must
complete the Agreement form for experts invited to a Part 7 committee
prior to attending a Part 7 Committee meeting (Attachment two).
In health care, quality improvement refers to activities and programs intended to
improve the quality of care in a health service.
The underlying aim of quality improvement legislation is to encourage clinicians,
managers and others to communicate openly and honestly in assessing the
management, processes and outcomes of health services.
What is quality improvement?
Quality improvement is a continuous cycle of evaluating care and services. An
authorised quality improvement activity as described in the Health Care Act 2008
(the Act) involves:
o Assessing or evaluating the quality of services provided by a health
service;
o Making recommendations about the provision of services provided by
health services;
o Monitoring the implementation of any recommendations or other
initiatives that are relevant to improving the quality of services provided
by the health service.
(Part 7 S64 (2) of the Act).
Quality improvement does not involve:
o Apportioning blame, taking disciplinary action or punishing;
o Assessing competence;
o Making decisions or arrangements about a person s employment.
Alternative processes should be followed to manage these matters.
The effect of authorisation under Part 7 of the Act:
This Part of the Act provides for the authorisation of a person or persons involved in
activities associated with undertaking or making assessments, evaluations or
recommendations with respect to the practices, procedures, systems, structures or
processes of a health service
(a) where the purpose of any such activity is wholly or predominantly to
improve the quality and safety of health services; and
(b) where the public disclosure of, or public access to, information is restricted
in order to achieve the best possible outcomes associated with the
improvement of health services.
(Part 7 s63 (2) of the Act).
A committee authorised under Part 7, s64 of the Act can only conduct activities
for which the authorisation is provided.
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Why is statutory protection of confidential information
important for quality improvement activities?
Part 7 Section 63 (1) of the Act defines confidential information as:
information relating to a health service in which the identity of a patient or person
providing the service is revealed
Some people may be discouraged from participating in quality improvement
activities because of concerns that:
o Information generated by these activities may be used in litigation;
o They may be embarrassed if information generated by the activities was
disclosed;
o Legal action may be taken against them for participating in the
assessment and evaluation of services provided by others.
Part 7 of the Act protects the confidentiality of some information generated by
certain quality improvement activities.
The statutory protection of confidential information for authorised quality
improvement activities is designed to encourage health practitioners to participate
in the activity by providing for:
o Access to confidential information that could identify the patient or
service provider without breach of the law or professional ethics;
o The protection of that information from being divulged outside of Part 7
committee processes, including in legal proceedings.
Membership responsibilities regarding confidential information
Only Part 7 Committee members can view confidential information.
Confidential information is protected by Part 7 committee authorisation and cannot
be viewed by anyone who is not a committee member.
Information relating to Part 7 Committee activities must be de-identified prior to
circulation outside of the committee or included in any reports.
Information discovered during Part 7 Committee activities cannot be used for
conducting performance reviews of individual committee members [Section 64(7)].
Part 7 of the Act takes precedence over all other legislation and Part 7 committees
cannot disclose any information of the conduct of individual health practitioners or
undertake any reviews relating to individual health practitioners.
The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (South
Australia) Act 2010
The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (South Australia) Act 2010 states
that members of quality assurance committees cannot disclose information
because Part 7 of the Health Care Act prohibits such disclosure.
For further details refer to in Schedule 2, Part 8, Division 2 of this legislation.
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Part 8 of the Act
Part 8 of the Act refers to the analysis of adverse incidents.
A person who is a member of an authorised quality improvement committee may
receive a Root Cause Analysis (RCA) report from a RCA team appointed under
Part 8 of the Act containing:
? A description of the adverse incident;
? A flow diagram;
? A cause and effect diagram;
? A causation statement;
? The recommendations of the RCA team;
? The working documents associated with the RCA team s investigation and
processes;
? Any other material considered relevant by the RCA team.
Members of the authorised quality improvement body receiving the above
RCA report must abide by the protection of information provisions as detailed
in Part 8 Analysis of Adverse incidents s73 (2) of the Act.
Part 7 Committee members
? Should note that the RCA team is responsible for the approval of their
RCA report
? Should not unduly influence the outcome of RCA investigations
? Should not unduly delay the completion of RCA investigations
Further information can be obtained from SA Health's RCA webpage
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Protection of Information
Committee members or persons assisting the committee are required to comply with
Part 7, s66 of the Act as detailed below:
(1) This section applies to
(a) a person who is, or has been, an authorised person; or
(b) a person
(i) who provides, or has provided, technical, administrative or secretarial
assistance to an authorised person or in connection with an authorised
activity; or
(ii) who receives or gathers information on behalf of an
authorised person in connection with an authorised activity.
(2) A person to whom this section applies must not
(a) make a record of information gained as a result of, or in connection with,
an authorised activity; or
(b) make use of or disclose information gained as a result of, or in
connection with, an authorised activity,
except
(c) to the extent necessary for the proper performance of the authorised activity;
or
(d) in pursuance of any reporting requirements of a prescribed kind to a
governing body of an entity; or
(e) as part of making a disclosure to another authorised person; or
(f) to the extent allowed by the regulations. Maximum penalty: $60, 000.
(3) Without limiting subsection (2), a person to whom this section applies cannot
be required
(a) to produce to a court, agency or other body any document that has been
brought into existence for the purposes of an authorised activity; or
(b) to disclose to a court, agency or other body any information that has
become known for the purposes of an authorised activity.
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply to any information or document that
does not identify, either expressly or by implication, a particular person or
particular persons.
.
(5) This section does not prohibit a disclosure of information if the person, or
each of the persons, who would be directly or indirectly identified by the
disclosure consents to that disclosure of the information.
The Act can be accessed
at:http://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/A/HEALTH%20CARE%20ACT%202008.aspx
For further information
Please refer to SA Health s Part 7 Committee webpage
or email gabriel.sloan@sa.gov.au and the Safety and Quality Unit at
HealthSafetyandQuality@sa.gov.au
Department for Health and Wellbeing. Government of South Australia. July 2020.
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Attachment one
Agreement form for Part 7 committee members
I ..
Name
Position
have read, understand, acknowledge and accept the obligations outlined in the
Information for members of committees authorised under Part 7, section 64 of the
SA Health Care Act (2008) document without exception or condition.
I confirm that I will act in good faith and not divulge information obtained as a
result of my membership of the
................
Committee, other than to those persons authorised by the Act to receive such
information. By signing this document, I am formally agreeing to contribute as a
member of the
..
Committee.
The Committee is authorised under Section 64 of the Health Care Act (2008) (the
Act) and I accept my obligations under Part 7 and Part 8 of the Act.
..
[Signed] [Date]
Name of witness:
Position
..
..
[Signed] [Date]
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Attachment Two
Agreement form for experts invited to a Part 7
committee
I,
Name
Position
have read, understand, acknowledge and accept the obligations outlined in the
Information for members of committees authorised under Part 7, section 64 of the
SA Health Care Act (2008) document without exception or condition.
I confirm that I will act in good faith and not divulge information obtained as a result
of my attendance at the
....................................
Committee, other than to those persons authorised by the Act to receive such
information. By signing this document, I am formally agreeing to contribute as an
invited expert of the
.
Committee.
The Committee is authorised under Section 64 of the Health Care Act (2008 (the
Act) and I accept my obligations under Part 7 and Part 8 of the Act.
Name of witness:
Position
..
..
[Signed] [Date]
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