Senate passes Medical Candor Act to promote confidential patient–provider discussions

The Utah Senate passed third substitute House Bill 344, known as the Medical Candor Act, after a floor presentation by sponsor Senator Kennedy. The bill establishes a protected forum in which patients and health-care providers can discuss adverse outcomes and, when possible, reach resolutions without immediately resorting to litigation.

"The Medical Candor Act is long overdue as an opportunity for plaintiffs, those that have been harmed by medical procedures, and those that have tried to help," Senator Kennedy said, describing negotiations with the Utah Medical Association and the Utah Association for Justice. He told the chamber a personal clinical story to illustrate why confidential discussions can reduce adversarial outcomes.

According to Kennedy, the third substitute clarifies the protected nature of information exchanged under the act and addresses discoverability concerns raised by the Utah Association for Justice. He said the measure is paired with a separate rules change in civil procedure that will guide how attorneys proceed when the mechanism is used.

Senators asked no substantive questions on the floor. The sponsor moved passage under suspension of the rules; a roll-call vote recorded 28 Yea, 4 Nay, and 5 absent. The bill will be returned to the House for further consideration.

Supporters described the act as a negotiated compromise between medical providers and plaintiff attorneys intended to encourage communication and limit the immediate escalation to litigation; critics on other occasions have warned about discoverability and patients' rights in alternative dispute settings, and the sponsor noted a linked House joint rules change to address legal procedure.

The next procedural step is return to the House; the sponsor said the rules-of-civil-procedure changes that accompany the act will be loaded later to coordinate how claims are handled in practice.