Section 6527. Special provisions

1.  A  not-for-profit  medical or dental
  expense  indemnity  corporation  or  a  hospital   service   corporation
  organized  under  the  insurance  law may employ licensed physicians and
  enter into contracts with partnerships or medical corporations organized
  under article forty-four of the public health  law,  health  maintenance
  organizations  possessing a certificate of authority pursuant to article
  forty-four of the public health law, professional corporations organized
  under article fifteen of the business corporation law or other groups of
  physicians to practice medicine on its behalf for persons insured  under
  its contracts or policies.
    2.  Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of any general, special
  or local law, any licensed physician who  voluntarily  and  without  the
  expectation  of  monetary  compensation  renders  first aid or emergency
  treatment at the scene of an accident  or  other  emergency,  outside  a
  hospital, doctor's office or any other place having proper and necessary
  medical equipment, to a person who is unconscious, ill or injured, shall
  not be liable for damages for injuries alleged to have been sustained by
  such  person or for damages for the death of such person alleged to have
  occurred by reason of an act or omission in the rendering of such  first
  aid  or  emergency treatment unless it is established that such injuries
  were or such death was caused by gross negligence on the  part  of  such
  physician.  Nothing  in this subdivision shall be deemed or construed to
  relieve a licensed physician from liability for damages for injuries  or
  death  caused  by  an  act  or omission on the part of a physician while
  rendering professional services in the normal and ordinary course of his
  practice.
    3. No individual who serves as a member of (a) a committee established
  to administer a utilization review  plan  of  a  hospital,  including  a
  hospital  as defined in article twenty-eight of the public health law or
  a hospital as defined in subdivision ten of section 1.03 of  the  mental
  hygiene  law,  or  (b)  a  committee  having  the  responsibility of the
  investigation of an incident reported pursuant to section 29.29  of  the
  mental  hygiene  law or the evaluation and improvement of the quality of
  care rendered in a hospital as defined in article  twenty-eight  of  the
  public health law or a hospital as defined in subdivision ten of section
  1.03  of  the mental hygiene law, or (c) any medical review committee or
  subcommittee thereof of  a  local,  county  or  state  medical,  dental,
  podiatry   or   optometrical   society,   any  such  society  itself,  a
  professional standards review organization or an  individual  when  such
  committee,   subcommittee,   society,   organization  or  individual  is
  performing any medical or quality assurance  review  function  including
  the  investigation  of an incident reported pursuant to section 29.29 of
  the mental hygiene law, either described in clauses (a) and (b) of  this
  subdivision,  required  by  law, or involving any controversy or dispute
  between (i) a physician, dentist, podiatrist or optometrist or  hospital
  administrator  and a patient concerning the diagnosis, treatment or care
  of such patient or the fees or charges therefor  or  (ii)  a  physician,
  dentist,  podiatrist  or  optometrist  or  hospital  administrator and a
  provider  of  medical,  dental,  podiatric  or   optometrical   services
  concerning  any  medical  or  health  charges or fees of such physician,
  dentist,  podiatrist  or  optometrist,  or  (d)  a  committee  appointed
  pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred five-j of the public health law
  to participate in the medical and dental malpractice prevention program,
  or  (e)  any  individual who participated in the preparation of incident
  reports required  by  the  department  of  health  pursuant  to  section
  twenty-eight hundred five-l of the public health law, or (f) a committee
  established  to  administer  a  utilization  review plan, or a committee
  having the responsibility of evaluation and improvement of  the  quality

  of  care  rendered, in a health maintenance organization organized under
  article forty-four of the public health law or  article  forty-three  of
  the  insurance  law,  including  a  committee  of an individual practice
  association  or  medical group acting pursuant to a contract with such a
  health maintenance organization, shall  be  liable  in  damages  to  any
  person  for  any action taken or recommendations made, by him within the
  scope of his function in such capacity provided that (a) such individual
  has taken action  or  made  recommendations  within  the  scope  of  his
  function  and  without  malice,  and  (b) in the reasonable belief after
  reasonable investigation that the act or recommendation  was  warranted,
  based upon the facts disclosed.
    Neither  the  proceedings nor the records relating to performance of a
  medical or a quality assurance review function  or  participation  in  a
  medical  and  dental  malpractice  prevention  program  nor  any  report
  required by the department of health pursuant  to  section  twenty-eight
  hundred  five-l of the public health law described herein, including the
  investigation of an incident reported pursuant to section 29.29  of  the
  mental  hygiene  law,  shall  be  subject  to  disclosure  under article
  thirty-one of the civil practice law and  rules  except  as  hereinafter
  provided  or  as  provided  by  any other provision of law. No person in
  attendance at a meeting when a medical or a quality assurance review  or
  a  medical  and  dental  malpractice  prevention  program or an incident
  reporting  function  described  herein  was  performed,  including   the
  investigation  of  an incident reported pursuant to section 29.29 of the
  mental hygiene law, shall be required to testify as to  what  transpired
  thereat.  The  prohibition  relating to discovery of testimony shall not
  apply to the statements made by any  person  in  attendance  at  such  a
  meeting  who is a party to an action or proceeding the subject matter of
  which was reviewed at such meeting.
    4. This article shall not  be  construed  to  affect  or  prevent  the
  following:
    a. The furnishing of medical assistance in an emergency;
    b. The practice of the religious tenets of any church;
    c.  A  physician  from  refusing  to  perform  an act constituting the
  practice of medicine to which he is conscientiously opposed by reason of
  religious training and belief.
    d. The organization of a medical corporation under article  forty-four
  of  the  public  health  law,  the  organization of a university faculty
  practice corporation  under  section  fourteen  hundred  twelve  of  the
  not-for-profit  corporation  law  or  the organization of a professional
  service corporation under article fifteen of  the  business  corporation
  law.
    e.  The  physician's  use  of  whatever  medical care, conventional or
  non-conventional, which effectively treats human disease, pain,  injury,
  deformity or physical condition.
    5.  There  shall be no monetary liability on the part of, and no cause
  of action for damages shall  arise  against,  any  person,  partnership,
  corporation,   firm,   society,  or  other  entity  on  account  of  the
  communication of information in the possession of such person or entity,
  or on  account  of  any  recommendation  or  evaluation,  regarding  the
  qualifications,  fitness,  or  professional  conduct  or  practices of a
  physician, to any governmental agency, medical or specialists society, a
  hospital as defined in article twenty-eight of the public health law,  a
  hospital  as  defined  in  subdivision ten of section 1.03 of the mental
  hygiene law,  or  a  health  maintenance  organization  organized  under
  article  forty-four  of  the public health law or article forty-three of
  the insurance law, including  a  committee  of  an  individual  practice
  association or medical group acting pursuant to a contract with a health

  maintenance  organization.  The foregoing shall not apply to information
  which is untrue and communicated with malicious intent.
    6. A licensed physician may prescribe and order a non-patient specific
  regimen  to  a  registered  professional  nurse, pursuant to regulations
  promulgated by the commissioner, and consistent with the  public  health
  law, for:
    (a) administering immunizations.
    (b) the emergency treatment of anaphylaxis.
    (c) administering purified protein derivative (PPD) tests.
    (d)  administering  tests  to  determine  the  presence  of  the human
  immunodeficiency virus.
    * 7. A licensed  physician  may  prescribe  and  order  a  non-patient
  specific  regimen  to  a  licensed  pharmacist,  pursuant to regulations
  promulgated by the commissioner, and consistent with the  public  health
  law,  for administering immunizations. Nothing in this subdivision shall
  authorize unlicensed persons to administer  immunizations,  vaccines  or
  other drugs.
    * NB Repealed March 31, 2012