South Carolina S 985: Statutory school term

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 985 Text of Previous Version (Mar. 05, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 985

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH 
CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING ARTICLE 9 TO CHAPTER 61, TITLE 44 SO AS TO 
ADDRESS CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS IMPLEMENTED BY PREHOSPITAL 
CLINICIANS, INCLUDING CONFIDENTIALITY AND PRIVILEGE OF DATA AND REPORTS; TO 
ESTABLISH CERTAIN PENALTIES FOR UNAUTHORIZED USE OF INFORMATION; AND FOR OTHER 
PURPOSES.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Chapter 61, Title 44 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

Article 9

Continuous Quality Control for Prehospital Clinicians

 Section 
44-61-900. For the purposes of this article:

 (1) 
"Continuous quality improvement" means an ongoing process of identifying, 
analyzing, trending, and implementing changes to improve patient care outcomes 
and organizational performance as well as efficiency by using a structured 
approach to problem solving, data collection, and analysis to enhance the 
quality of care delivered, which is overseen by the licensed provider's retained 
medical control physician required by Section 44-61-40.

 (2) 
"Emergency medical services clinician" means a person trained and certified or 
licensed to provide emergency medical care, whether on a paid or volunteer 
basis, as part of a basic life support or advanced life support prehospital 
emergency care service or in an emergency department or pediatric critical care 
or specialty unit in a licensed hospital.

 (3) 
"Prehospital care" means the provision of mobile integrated healthcare, 
community paramedicine, both of which may include telehealth, emergency medical 
care or transportation by trained and certified or licensed emergency medical 
services clinicians at the scene of an emergency and while transporting sick or 
injured persons to a medical care facility or provider.

 (4) 
"Prehospital clinician" means emergency medical services personnel, 
firefighters, who support or directly render prehospital care.

 Section 
44-61-910. (A) All activities, 
records, reports, data, and proceedings associated with continuous quality 
improvement programs implemented by prehospital clinicians are:

 (1) 
privileged and confidential;

 (2) 
exempt from disclosure pursuant to Chapter 4, Title 30;

 (3) 
not subject to disclosure or discovery in any civil, criminal, or 
administrative proceeding; and

 (4) 
may not be used as evidence in any criminal, civil, or administrative 
proceeding.

 (B) 
The privilege and confidentiality provided for in subsection (A) extend to, 
without limitation:

 (1) 
peer review processes;

 (2) 
incident debriefings and reviews;

 (3) 
morbidity and mortality reviews;

 (4) 
data collection and analysis;

 (5) 
case studies and discussions;

 (6) 
training sessions;

 (7) 
performance evaluations related to clinical care;

 (8) 
information related to initial credentialing processes; and

 (9) 
documentation related to hiring and onboarding processes.

 (C) 
Information produced by continuous quality improvement activities shall be used 
solely for improving the quality of care and services provided by prehospital 
providers.

 Section 
44-61-920. The protections from disclosure contained 
in Section 44-61-910(A) do not apply to:

 (1) 
information that is otherwise available from original sources not associated 
with continuous quality improvement activities; or

 (2) 
voluntary disclosure by the provider or a participant in continuous quality 
improvement activities, unless otherwise prohibited by law.

 Section 
44-61-930. A person who makes an unauthorized disclosure of or use of 
continuous quality improvement and peer review in violation of this article is 
subject to the penalty provisions of Section 44-61-160.

 Section 
44-61-940. Continuous quality improvement participants acting in good faith and 
within the scope of the participant's duties are immune from civil or criminal 
liability for any act, omission, or statement related to the continuous quality 
improvement activity in which the participant is participating. A participant 
who engages in wilful misconduct or gross negligence associated with a 
continuous quality improvement activity is not immune from civil or criminal 
liability for his acts, omissions, or statements. 

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval 
by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on March 05, 2026 at 12:22 PM