132:31 Acquisition of Information Related to Maternal Mortality. –
I. If a root cause analysis of a maternal mortality event has been completed, such findings shall be included in the records supplied to the review panel.
II. Health care providers, health care facilities, clinics, laboratories, medical records departments, and state offices, agencies and departments shall report all maternal mortality deaths as defined in RSA 132:29, I-III to the chair of the panel and the commissioner, or designee. The commissioner shall have access to individually identifiable information relating to the occurrence of maternal deaths only on a case-by-case basis where public health is at risk. This information includes, but is not limited to: vital records, hospital discharge data, prenatal, fetal, pediatric, or infant medical records, hospital or clinic records, laboratory reports, records of fetal deaths or induced terminations of pregnancies, and autopsy reports. The same case information may be acquired from health care facilities, maternal mortality review programs, and other sources in other states to ensure that its records of New Hampshire maternal mortality cases are accurate and complete. The chair shall not acquire and retain any individually identifiable information.
III. The commissioner, or designee, may retain identifiable information regarding facilities where maternal deaths occur and geographical information on each case solely for the purposes of trending and analysis over time. Pursuant to RSA 132:30, VII(d), identifiable information on all individuals and facilities shall be removed prior to any case review by the panel.