The scope of a little-known but nonetheless significant federal healthcare law, the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act ("Patient Safety Act), may soon be considered by the United States Supreme Court. In a petition filed on March 18, 2015, three physicians associated with the University of Kentucky Hospital asked the Supreme Court to hear an appeal of a decision by the Kentucky Supreme Court in Tibbs v. Bunnell. At issue in this appeal is whether the fact that certain state laws require the collection and maintenance of information related to patient safety incidents nullifies the federal patient safety privilege and confidentiality provisions that apply to that information when it is collected pursuant to the Patient Safety Act.

Originally published in Virginia Lawyers Weekly, in July 2015.