The bill amends Section 23-4-3 of the General Laws in Rhode Island, expanding the functions of the Office of State Medical Examiners to include the establishment of a multidisciplinary team to review suicide deaths. The team's goal is to analyze various factors contributing to suicide and develop strategies to reduce its prevalence. The bill specifies that the team may include representatives from a range of departments and agencies, as determined by the director of the Rhode Island Department of Health. The bill also introduces provisions to ensure the confidentiality and protection of the work product of the child death-review team, the multidisciplinary team for review of drug-related overdose deaths, and the newly established maternal mortality review committee, making them exempt from certain disclosure laws and not subject to legal proceedings. Additionally, it mandates the development of a process for the timely availability of autopsy reports on child deaths and deletes a previous provision, which is not detailed in the provided text.

Furthermore, the bill outlines that the work product of the adult suicide fatality review team will be kept confidential and protected under all applicable laws, including federal and state health information privacy laws. It will not be subject to subpoena, discovery, or introduction into evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding, nor will it be disclosed beyond the team members. The team is also responsible for developing annual recommendations for the state suicide prevention coalition or the state agency responsible for suicide prevention, in accordance with the Rhode Island suicide prevention state plan. The recommendations will be based on case review data and aim to inform strategies to reduce suicide deaths. The act will become effective upon passage.

Statutes affected:
7732: 23-4-3