Tennessee Supreme Court Rules: Hospital Lost Legal Shield by Revealing Patient Details

The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that the Quality Improvement Committee (“QIC”) privilege can be waived. Under Tennessee legislation, healthcare entities are permitted to establish a QIC to assess patient care quality. According to Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-11-272(c)(1), any records related to QIC activities are shielded from discovery.Plaintiff Payton Castillo filed a negligence lawsuit for her deceased husband, Marshal Castillo, against several healthcare providers, including CHI Memorial Hospital. Following Mr. Castillo’s passing, Memorial created a QIC to review the care he received and subsequently invited Mrs. Castillo, disclosing protected QIC information. When she sought access to these statements, Memorial argued that they were privileged and undiscoverable.Both the trial court and Court of Appeals determined the information was discoverable, and Memorial's privilege was waived when its COO disclosed protected details to Mrs. Castillo. To view the unanimous ruling in Castillo v. Rex, et al., authored by Justice Dwight E. Tarwater, refer to the opinions section on TNcourts.gov.