The
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that a Protection
and Advocacy System ("P&A Entity") was entitled to peer review
records regarding four suicides at a Colorado mental health facility, despite
the existence of a state statute shielding peer review from discovery. P&A
Entities are designated in each state pursuant to the federal Protection and
Advocacy for Mentally Ill Individuals Act of 1986. The Act states that P&A
Entities have the authority to "investigate incidents of abuse and neglect
of individuals with mental illness," and that such entities also have a
statutory right to "all records" regarding the care of the individuals.
The court found that the broad language in the Act giving P&A Entities access
to "all records" included peer review records protected by state law.