Revision: May 23, 2024, 3:49 p.m.
Sen. Birdsell, Dist 19
May 21, 2024
2024-2104s
09/02
Floor Amendment to HB 1245
Amend the title of the bill by replacing it with the following:
AN ACT relative to release of confidential records of a person appointed a guardian and relative to patient access to medical records.
Amend the bill by replacing all after section 4 with the following:
5 Medical Records. RSA 332-I:1, I is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
I. All medical information contained in the medical records in the possession of any health care provider, or in the possession of any third-party vendor with whom a health care provider contracts to store, handle, and issue copies of such medical records, shall be deemed to be the property of the patient. The patient or the patient's requestor shall be entitled to a copy of such records upon request, as regulated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended (“HIPAA”).
(a) For purposes of this section, a "requestor" means the patient’s personal representative, an individual authorized to access the patient’s medical record through a valid power of attorney, or the patient’s attorney.
(b) For any request made by a requestor, the cost for electronic copies of the patient’s medical records, and all related services, shall be charged at a reasonable rate not to exceed $50.00, and the cost for paper copies of the patient’s medical records, and all related services, shall not exceed $5 for the first page, $.41 per page for pages 2 through 50, and $.30 per page for pages 51 and higher. If, however, any redactions to the patient’s records are specifically requested by the requestor, such as for example, redactions of sensitive information pertaining to HIV status, drug and alcohol use, mental health, or genetic testing, the requestor may be charged a reasonable cost for the labor necessary to complete those redactions, not to exceed $25 per hour.
(c) If a patient’s medical records are stored and available in an electronic format, they shall be provided in that format to the requestor. Records which are stored and available in an electronic format shall not be printed and provided in paper format unless specifically requested in paper format by the requestor.
(d) All records being provided pursuant to requests by a requestor shall be provided to the requestor within 30 days of the receipt of the request, and any records not provided within 30 days shall be provided at no cost, absent an independent intervening force majeure which renders the requested records inaccessible, irretrievable, or undeliverable within this 30-day timeframe.
(e) If an incomplete copy of the requested medical records is provided, and additional requests are required to obtain a complete copy of the originally requested medical records, any records provided pursuant to those additional requests shall be provided at no cost.
I. Sections 1 through 4 of this act shall take effect January 1, 2025.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect upon its passage.
2024-2104s
AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill provides that a person appointed a guardian shall retain the right to access and consent to the release of his or her confidential records unless the terms of the appointment provide otherwise. This bill further amends the amounts that can be charged for copies of medical records, and requires electronic production where available unless otherwise requested.