Ch. 130

1997 LAWS OF MARYLAND

(7) Subject to § 2-1312 of the State Government Article, during each
regular session of the General Assembly, the Department shall submit to the General
Assembly a report on the inspections.

(8) (i) An employee of the Department may not inform a hospital_t
RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTER or related institution of any proposed inspection
activity, unless the chief of the employee's division directs the employee to do so.

(ii) An employee who violates any provision of this paragraph is guilty
of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or
imprisonment not exceeding 1 year or both.

(c) (1) An accredited hospital OR ACCREDITED RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT
CENTER shall submit the survey findings of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of
Health Care HEALTHCARE Organizations within 30 days of receipt by the hospital OR
ACCREDITED THE RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTER to the Department.

(2) Except as provided in paragraph (5) of this subsection, an accredited
hospital's OR ACCREDITED RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTER'S official accreditation
report and any summary of the report, written progress reports, or plans of correction
which are submitted to the Secretary are confidential and are not discoverable or
admissible as evidence in any civil action.

(3) The Secretary shall refer any request for public inspection of a survey
report made by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health-Care HEALTHCARE
Organizations for an accredited hospital OR ACCREDITED RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT
CENTER directly to the hospital OR RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTER.

(4) Upon the written request of any person, within 15 working days, the
accredited hospital OR ACCREDITED RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTER shall make
available for public inspection the most recent accreditation letter and any Type I
recommendations if the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health-Care
HEALTHCARE Organizations has made a final decision on any appeal by the hospital OR
RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTER of the Type I recommendations.

(5) If information is released in accordance with paragraph (4) of this
subsection, that information is no longer confidential, but is not discoverable or
admissible in any civil action.

(6) [A hospital] AN accreditation report, including any summary of the
report and any information contained in the report, disclosed by a hospital OR
RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTER, the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of
Health-Care HEALTHCARE Organizations, or the Department is not admissible or
discoverable in any civil action.

(7) If an accredited hospital OR ACCREDITED RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT
CENTER willfully fails to comply with the provisions of this subsection, the Secretary may
impose a penalty not to exceed $1,000 a day for each day the violation continues.

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