In this chapter:

1. (1) "Board" means the Board of Nurse Examiners.
2. (2) "Nurse" means a registered nurse or a vocational nurse licensed under Chapter 301.
3. (3) "Nursing" has the meaning assigned by Section 301.002.
4. (4) "Nursing peer review committee" means a committee established under the authority of the governing body of a national, state, or local nursing association, a school of nursing, the nursing staff of a hospital, health science center, nursing home, home health agency, temporary nursing service, or other health care facility, or state agency or political subdivision for the purpose of conducting peer review. The committee includes an employee or agent of the committee, including an assistant, an investigator, an intervenor, an attorney, and any other person who serves the committee in any capacity.

5. (5) "Peer review" means the evaluation of nursing services, the qualifications of a nurse, the quality of patient care rendered by a nurse, the merits of a complaint concerning a nurse or nursing care, and a determination or recommendation regarding a complaint. The term includes:

   1. (A) the evaluation of the accuracy of a nursing assessment and observation and the appropriateness and quality of the care rendered by a nurse;
   2. (B) a report made to a nursing peer review committee concerning an activity under the committee's review authority;
   3. (C) a report made by a nursing peer review committee to another committee or to the board as permitted or required by law; and
   4. (D) implementation of a duty of a nursing peer review committee by a member, an agent, or an employee of the committee.

Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 388, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.

Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 553, Sec. 2.018, eff. Feb. 1, 2004.