(a) Professional review activity shall be conducted and professional review actions shall be taken in compliance with the requirements of the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986, 42 U.S.C. § 11101 et seq., and the additional requirements of this subchapter.
(b)
(1) If at any meeting or hearing held in the course of a professional review activity, an attorney is participating on behalf of a professional review body and the physician under review is present, then the physician under review shall be permitted to have the attorney of the physician present.
(2) Subdivision (b)(1) of this section does not:
(A) Entitle the attorney of the physician to appear at any meeting or hearing where an attorney participating on behalf of the peer review body is not present, except as provided in § 20-9-1310;
(B) Prohibit confidential attorney-client communications by any party; or
(C) Prohibit a professional review body from meeting in private with its attorney.
(c) The General Assembly encourages:
(1) Professional review bodies to use separate legal counsel from the legal counsel used by the hospital; and
(2) Medical staff to obtain independent legal counsel to review medical staff bylaws to ensure that the bylaws contain provisions that comply with this subchapter.
(d)
(1) A physician engaged in professional review activities shall exercise unbiased, independent, and professional judgment when evaluating another physician.
(2) A hospital shall not take action against or otherwise retaliate against a physician for exercising unbiased, independent, and professional judgment when evaluating another physician during the course of a professional review activity.