Title 38, Veterans' BenefitsRelease 119-110
§5705 Confidentiality of Medical Quality-assurance Records
Title 38 › PART IV — GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS › CHAPTER 57 — RECORDS AND INVESTIGATIONS › SUBCHAPTER I — RECORDS › § 5705
Summary
Keeps Department medical quality‑assurance records private and only lets them be shared in a few cases. Records can be given on request to federal or private groups that license or check Department health facilities, to federal agencies or outside health providers when needed for a shared health program, to law‑enforcement bodies that protect public health or safety if they ask in writing for a lawful purpose, and to health staff when needed in a medical emergency. Names and other identifying details must be removed before sharing if giving them would be a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy. Anyone who gets the records under these rules cannot share them again except as allowed here. Congressional committees may get records for matters they oversee. The Department and its contractors can use the records inside the Department. Non‑identifying statistics may be shared. A “medical quality‑assurance program” means systematic health‑care review work done before October 7, 1980 that fits the definition, and review work on or after that date only if the Secretary has officially designated it. The Secretary must write rules listing covered activities. Willful, unauthorized disclosure can bring fines up to $5,000 for a first offense and up to $20,000 for later offenses.
Full Legal Text
Title 38, §5705
Veterans' Benefits, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Records and documents created by the Department as part of a medical quality-assurance program (other than reports submitted pursuant to section 7311(g) of this title) are confidential and privileged and may not be disclosed to any person or entity except as provided in subsection (b) of this section.
(b)(1)Subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, a record or document described in subsection (a) of this section shall, upon request, be disclosed as follows:
(A)To a Federal agency or private organization, if such record or document is needed by such agency or organization to perform licensing or accreditation functions related to Department health-care facilities or to perform monitoring, required by statute, of Department health-care facilities.
(B)To a Federal executive agency or provider of health-care services, if such record or document is required by such agency or provider for participation by the Department in a health-care program with such agency or provider.
(C)To a criminal or civil law enforcement governmental agency or instrumentality charged under applicable law with the protection of the public health or safety, if a qualified representative of such agency or instrumentality makes a written request that such record or document be provided for a purpose authorized by law.
(D)To health-care personnel, to the extent necessary to meet a medical emergency affecting the health or safety of any individual.
(2)The name of and other identifying information regarding any individual patient or employee of the Department, or any other individual associated with the Department for purposes of a medical quality-assurance program, contained in a record or document described in subsection (a) of this section shall be deleted from any record or document before any disclosure made under this subsection if disclosure of such name and identifying information would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
(3)No person or entity to whom a record or document has been disclosed under this subsection shall make further disclosure of such record or document except for a purpose provided in this subsection.
(4)Nothing in this section shall be construed as authority to withhold any record or document from a committee of either House of Congress or any joint committee of Congress, if such record or document pertains to any matter within the jurisdiction of such committee or joint committee.
(5)Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the use of records and documents described in subsection (a) of this section within the Department (including contractors and consultants of the Department).
(6)Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing or requiring withholding from any person or entity the disclosure of statistical information regarding Department health-care programs (including such information as aggregate morbidity and mortality rates associated with specific activities at individual Department health-care facilities) that does not implicitly or explicitly identify individual patients or employees of the Department, or individuals who participated in the conduct of a medical quality-assurance review.
(c)For the purpose of this section, the term “medical quality-assurance program” means—
(1)with respect to any activity carried out before October 7, 1980, a Department systematic health-care review activity carried out by or for the Department for the purpose of improving the quality of medical care or improving the utilization of health-care resources in Department health-care facilities; and
(2)with respect to any activity carried out on or after October 7, 1980, a Department systematic health-care review activity designated by the Secretary to be carried out by or for the Department for either such purpose.
(d)(1)The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to carry out this section. In prescribing such regulations, the Secretary shall specify those activities carried out before October 7, 1980, which the Secretary determines meet the definition of medical quality-assurance program in subsection (c)(1) of this section and those activities which the Secretary has designated under subsection (c)(2) of this section. The Secretary shall, to the extent appropriate, incorporate into such regulations the provisions of the administrative guidelines and procedures governing such programs in existence on October 7, 1980.
(2)An activity may not be considered as having been designated as a medical quality-assurance program for the purposes of subsection (c)(2) of this section unless the designation has been specified in such regulations.
(e)Any person who, knowing that a document or record is a document or record described in subsection (a) of this section, willfully discloses such record or document except as provided for in subsection (b) of this section shall be fined not more than $5,000 in the case of a first offense and not more than $20,000 in the case of a subsequent offense.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
section 7311(g) of this title, referred to in subsec. (a), was repealed by Pub. L. 103–446, title XII, § 1201(g)(5), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4687.
Amendments
1991—Pub. L. 102–40, § 402(b)(1), renumbered section 3305 of this title as this section. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(a)(3), (4), substituted “Department” for “Veterans’ Administration”. Pub. L. 102–40, § 403(b)(2), substituted “section 7311(g)” for “section 4152(b)”. Subsec. (b)(1)(A), (B). Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(a)(3), (4), substituted “Department” for “Veterans’ Administration” wherever appearing. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(a)(3), (4), substituted “Department” for “Veterans’ Administration”. Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(a)(2)(F)(i), substituted “patient or employee of the Department” for “Veterans’ Administration patient or employee”. Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(a)(3), (4), substituted “Department” for “Veterans’ Administration” in two places. Subsec. (b)(6). Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(a)(3), (4), substituted “Department” for “Veterans’ Administration” in two places. Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(a)(2)(F)(ii), substituted “patients or employees of the Department,” for “Veterans’ Administration patients or employees”. Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(a)(3), (4), substituted “Department” for “Veterans’ Administration” wherever appearing. Pub. L. 102–54, § 14(d)(4)(A), amended subsec. (c)(1) as in effect immediately before the enactment of Pub. L. 102–40 by substituting “
October 7, 1980” for “the date of the enactment of this section”. Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted “Secretary” for “Administrator”. Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(a)(3), (4), substituted “Department” for “Veterans’ Administration” in two places. Pub. L. 102–54, § 14(d)(4)(A), amended subsec. (c)(2) as in effect immediately before the enactment of Pub. L. 102–40 by substituting “
October 7, 1980” for “the date of the enactment of this section”. Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted “Secretary” for “Administrator” wherever appearing. Pub. L. 102–54, § 14(d)(4)(B)(i)–(iii), amended subsec. (d)(1) as in effect immediately before the enactment of Pub. L. 102–40 by substituting “The” for “Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the” in first sentence, substituting “
October 7, 1980,” for “such enactment date” in second sentence, and striking out “existing” after “provisions of the” and inserting “in existence on
October 7, 1980” after “such programs” in last sentence. Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 102–54, § 14(d)(4)(B)(iv), amended subsec. (d)(2) as in effect immediately before the enactment of Pub. L. 102–40 by substituting “An activity may not be considered” for “After the date on which such
Regulations
are first prescribed, no activity shall be considered”. 1985—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 99–166, § 201(1), inserted “(other than reports submitted pursuant to section 4152(b) of this title)” after “program”. Subsec. (b)(6). Pub. L. 99–166, § 201(2), added par. (6).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
Section effective Oct. 7, 1980, see section 601(d) of Pub. L. 96–385, set out as an
Effective Date
of 1980 Amendment note under section 1114 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
38 U.S.C. § 5705
Title 38, Veterans' Benefits
Last Updated
Sep 23, 2026
Release point: 119-110