(a) Notwithstanding Section 3502, any physician who provides medical care to prisoners may provide a patient who is a prisoner with a drug or treatment available only through a treatment protocol or treatment IND (investigational new drug), as defined in Section 312 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, if the physician determines that access to that drug is in the best medical interest of the patient, and the patient has given informed consent under Section 3521.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, neither a public entity nor a public employee shall be liable for any injury caused by the administration of a drug pursuant to subdivision (a), where the administration is made in accordance with a treatment IND or a treatment protocol as defined in Section 312 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(Amended by Stats. 1995, Ch. 70, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1996.)