BILL NUMBER: AB 3013 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 28, 2006
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 23, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 21, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 14, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 20, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 26, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2006
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Koretz
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Leslie)
FEBRUARY 24, 2006
An act to amend Section 56.16 of, and to add Section 56.1007 to,
the Civil Code, relating to medical information.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 3013, Koretz Medical information: disclosures.
The state Confidentiality of Medical Information Act prohibits a
provider of health care, a health care service plan, contractor, or
corporation and its subsidiaries and affiliates from intentionally
sharing, selling, or otherwise using any medical information, as
defined, for any purpose not necessary to provide health care
services to a patient, except as expressly authorized by the patient,
enrollee, or subscriber, as specified, or as otherwise required or
authorized by law.
Violations of these provisions are subject to a civil action for
compensatory and punitive damages, and, if a violation results in
economic loss or personal injury to a patient, it is punishable as a
misdemeanor.
The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of
1996 (HIPAA) prohibits a covered entity that uses electronic means
to perform HIPAA-covered transactions, from using or disclosing
personal health information except pursuant to a written
authorization signed by the patient or for treatment, payment, or
health care operations. Notwithstanding those provisions, HIPAA
allows a covered entity to maintain a directory of patients in its
facility for specified purposes, and disclose the protected health
information of a patient to family members, relatives, or other
persons identified by the patient, if certain conditions are met.
HIPAA further provides that if its provisions conflict with a
provision of state law, the provision that is most protective of
patient privacy prevails.
The state Confidentiality of Medical Information Act allows a
provider of health care, upon an inquiry concerning a specific
patient, to release at its discretion a patient's name, address, age,
and sex; a general description of the reason for treatment; the
general nature of the injury, burn, poisoning, or other condition;
the general condition of the patient; and any information that is not
medical information, as defined, unless there is a specific written
request by the patient to prohibit that release.
This bill would revise that latter provision to have it apply only
to a general acute care hospital, as defined, in specified
situations, and would add to the state Confidentiality of Medical
Information Act, HIPAA provisions related to medical information
disclosures to family members, relatives, or other persons identified
by a patient, thereby requiring a provider of health care, health
care service plan, or contractor to comply with those provisions, as
specified.
By expanding the definition of a crime under the Confidentiality
of Medical Information Act, this bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 56.1007 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
56.1007. (a) A provider of health care, health care service plan,
or contractor may, in accordance with subdivision (c) or (d),
disclose to a family member, other relative, domestic partner, or a
close personal friend of the patient, or any other person identified
by the patient, the medical information directly relevant to that
person's involvement with the patient's care or payment related to
the patient's health care.
(b) A provider of health care, health care service plan, or
contractor may use or disclose medical information to notify, or
assist in the notification of, including identifying or locating, a
family member, a personal representative of the patient, a domestic
partner, or another person responsible for the care of the patient of
the patient's location, general condition, or death. Any use or
disclosure of medical information for those notification purposes
shall be in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (c), (d),
or (e), as applicable.
(c) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), if the patient is
present for, or otherwise available prior to, a use or disclosure
permitted by subdivision (a) or (b) and has the capacity to make
health care decisions, the provider of health care, health care
service plan, or contractor may use or disclose the medical
information if it does any of the following:
(A) Obtains the patient's agreement.
(B) Provides the patient with the opportunity to object to the
disclosure, and the patient does not express an objection.
(C) Reasonably infers from the circumstances, based on the
exercise of professional judgment, that the patient does not object
to the disclosure.
(2) A provider of health care who is a psychotherapist, as defined
in Section 1010 of the Evidence Code, may use or disclose medical
information pursuant to this subdivision only if the psychotherapist
complies with subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1).
(d) If the patient is not present, or the opportunity to agree or
object to the use or disclosure cannot practicably be provided
because of the patient's incapacity or an emergency circumstance, the
provider of health care, health care service plan, or contractor
may, in the exercise of professional judgment, determine whether the
disclosure is in the best interests of the patient and, if so,
disclose only the medical information that is directly relevant to
the person's involvement with the patient's health care. A provider
of health care, health care service plan, or contractor may use
professional judgment and its experience with common practice to make
reasonable inferences of the patient's best interest in allowing a
person to act on behalf of the patient to pick up filled
prescriptions, medical supplies, X-rays, or other similar forms of
medical information.
(e) A provider of health care, health care service plan, or
contractor may use or disclose medical information to a public or
private entity authorized by law or by its charter to assist in
disaster relief efforts, for the purpose of coordinating with those
entities the uses or disclosures permitted by subdivision (b). The
requirements in subdivisions (c) and (d) apply to those uses and
disclosures to the extent that the provider of health care, health
care service plan, or contractor, in the exercise of professional
judgment, determines that the requirements do not interfere with the
ability to respond to the emergency circumstances.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to interfere with
or limit the access authority of Protection and Advocacy, Inc., the
Office of Patients' Rights, or any county patients' rights advocates
to access medical information pursuant to any state or federal law.
SEC. 2. Section 56.16 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
56.16. For disclosures not addressed by Section 56.1007, unless
there is a specific written request by the patient to the contrary,
nothing in this part shall be construed to prevent a general acute
care hospital, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1250 of the
Health and Safety Code, upon an inquiry concerning a specific
patient, from releasing at its discretion any of the following
information: the patient's name, address, age, and sex; a general
description of the reason for treatment (whether an injury, a burn,
poisoning, or some unrelated condition); the general nature of the
injury, burn, poisoning, or other condition; the general condition of
the patient; and any information that is not medical information as
defined in subdivision (c) of Section 56.05.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.