Confidentiality of records and meetings of risk management and quality assurance committees.

(1) Incident reports filed with the risk manager and administrator of a long-term care facility licensed under this part or part I of chapter 429, notifications of the occurrence of an adverse incident, and adverse incident reports from the facility are confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.

(2)(a) The meetings of an internal risk management and quality assurance committee of a long-term care facility licensed under this part or part I of chapter 429 are exempt from s. 286.011 and s. 24(b), Art. I of the State Constitution.

(b) Records of those meetings are confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.

(3)(a) If the Agency for Health Care Administration has a reasonable belief that conduct by a staff member or employee of a facility is criminal activity or grounds for disciplinary action by a regulatory board, the agency may disclose records made confidential and exempt pursuant to this section to the appropriate law enforcement agency or regulatory board.

(b) Records disclosed to a law enforcement agency remain confidential and exempt until criminal charges are filed.

(4) Records made confidential and exempt under this section and that are obtained by a regulatory board are not available to the public as part of the record of investigation and prosecution in a disciplinary proceeding made available to the public by the agency or the appropriate regulatory board. However, the agency or the appropriate regulatory board shall make available, upon request by a health care professional against whom probable cause has been found, any such records that form the basis of the determination of probable cause.