A. There is hereby created, to continue until November 1, 2029, the Maternal Mortality Review Committee. The Committee shall have the power and duty to:

1. Conduct case reviews of the pregnancy-related and pregnancy-associated maternal deaths of women in Oklahoma;

2. Improve the ability to provide high-quality, evidence-based health care to women and infants in Oklahoma;

3. Identify gaps in the provision of health care services including, but not limited to, quality of care, access to the most appropriate health care, transportation and lack of financial resources;

4. Review probable cause of death and identify contributing factors;

5. Decide if the death was preventable, and if so what actions could have been taken to prevent the death;

6. Identify action items related to issues identified to improve the provision of health care and prevent future maternal deaths;

7. Enter into agreements with other state, local and private entities as necessary to carry out the duties of the Committee; and

8. Recommend rules to be promulgated as needed to and by the State Commissioner of Health.

B. In carrying out its duties and responsibilities the Committee shall:

1. Establish criteria for case review involving pregnancy-related and pregnancy-associated maternal death or near death subject to specific, in-depth review by the Committee;

2. Conduct review for all cases identified as pregnancy-related and pregnancy-associated maternal deaths or near deaths where sufficient information is obtainable to evaluate the case;

3. Establish and maintain statistical information related to the deaths and near deaths necessary to compile data and identify gaps in services or areas subject to improvement in the provision of health care;

4. Establish procedures for obtaining information related to the deaths necessary to accurately determine cause of death, contributing factors, gaps in service and areas subject to improvement in the provision of health care;

5. Contact family members and other affected or involved persons to collect additional relevant data;

6. Request and obtain a copy of all records and reports pertaining to the pregnancy-related and pregnancy-associated maternal mortality or near-death case under review. All case reviews shall remain in the possession of Committee staff and only de-identified information will be presented to the Committee, including but not limited to the following:

a.medical examiner reports,

b.hospital/health care entity records,

c.court records,

d.prosecutorial records,

e.local, state, and federal law enforcement records including, but not limited to, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation,

f.fire department records,

g.State Department of Health records, including birth and death certificate records,

h.medical and dental records,

i.Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and other mental health records,

j.emergency medical service records, and

k.pharmacy records.

Confidential information provided to the Committee shall be maintained by the Committee in a confidential manner as otherwise required by state and federal law. Any person damaged by disclosure of such confidential information by the Committee or its members which is not authorized by law may maintain an action for damages, costs and attorney fees pursuant to The Governmental Tort Claims Act; and

7. Maintain all confidential information, documents and records in possession of the Committee as confidential and not subject to subpoena or discovery in any civil or criminal proceedings; provided however, information, documents and records otherwise available from other sources shall not be exempt from subpoena or discovery through those sources solely because such information, documents and records were presented to or reviewed by the Committee.

C. The review and discussion of individual cases of pregnancy-related and pregnancy-associated maternal death or near death shall be conducted in executive session. Any discussion of individual cases and any writing produced by or created by the Committee as the result of its review shall be privileged and shall not be admissible in evidence in any proceeding. All other business shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act.

D. A health care provider, health care facility, pharmacy or any other entity providing access to medical records pursuant to this statute shall not be held liable for civil damages or be subject to any criminal or disciplinary action for good-faith efforts in providing such records.

Added by Laws 2019, c. 473, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2019.