Amended in Assembly April 16, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 268

Introduced by Assembly Member Holden

February 7, 2013

begin delete An act to amend Section 123130 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to health records. end delete begin insert An act relating to transit. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 268, as amended, Holden. begin delete Health records: access. end delete begin insert Transit: Metro Gold Line extension. end insert

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Existing law creates the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority, with various powers and duties relative to the construction of a rail transit project between Los Angeles and Montclair and intermediate locations.

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This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would enable the Metro Gold Line extension to be completed at the terminus of Ontario Airport with intermediate stops in San Dimas, La Verne, Pomona, Claremont, and Montclair, and for regional cooperation to continue.

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Existing law provides that a patient or his or her representative is entitled to inspect a patient’s health records upon presenting a written request and upon payment for reasonable clerical costs incurred in locating and making the records available. Existing law authorizes a health care provider to prepare a summary of the patient’s record for inspection and copying by a patient rather than allowing the patient to access the entire record. A willful violation of these provisions by certain health care providers is an infraction.

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This bill would, in addition, authorize a health care provider to prepare the summary of the patient’s record for inspection and copying by the patient’s representative. Because the bill would change the definition of an infraction, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.

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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.

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This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete yes end delete begin insert no end insert . State-mandated local program:  begin delete yes end delete begin insert no end insert .

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of
the following:

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(a) Unemployment in California remains unacceptably high,
near 10 percent, and is even higher in the construction and building
trades industry.

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(b) The Metro Gold Line project and associated transit-oriented
development is estimated to infuse $43,000,000,000 into the
economies of the Counties of Los Angeles and San Bernardino
and generate nearly 10 million square feet of new retail and
commercial space.

end insert begin insert

(c) Traffic congestion is increasing throughout southern
California, and new, environmentally sustainable transit operations
are desperately needed to alleviate congestion. New transit
development will lead to fewer private vehicle trips, less
congestion, and better health outcomes resulting from less
pollution.

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(d) Therefore, public transit infrastructure projects should be
encouraged as a means of growing employment and reducing
congestion and pollution in southern California.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

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(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that all parties
critical to the expansion of the Metro Gold Line continue to
cooperate on regional transit solutions that benefit the people of
California.

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(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation enabling
the Metro Gold Line extension to be completed at a final terminus
of Ontario Airport in Ontario, with intermediate stops in San
Dimas, La Verne, Pomona, Claremont, and Montclair.

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begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 123130 of the Health and Safety Code
is amended to read:

123130.  

(a)  A health care provider may prepare a summary
of the record, according to the requirements of this section, for
inspection and copying by a patient or patient’s representative. If
the health care provider chooses to prepare a summary of the record
rather than allowing access to the entire record, he or she shall
make the summary of the record available to the patient or patient’s
representative within 10 working days from the date of the patient’s
or patient’s representative’s request. However, if more time is
needed because the record is of extraordinary length or because
the patient was discharged from a licensed health facility within
the last 10 days, the health care provider shall notify the patient
or patient’s representative of this fact and the date that the summary
will be completed, but in no case shall more than 30 days elapse
between the request by the patient or patient’s representative and
the delivery of the summary. In preparing the summary of the
record the health care provider shall not be obligated to include
information that is not contained in the original record.

(b)  A health care provider may confer with the patient or
patient’s representative in an attempt to clarify the patient’s or
patient’s representative’s purpose and goal in obtaining the
patient’s record. If as a consequence the patient or patient’s
representative requests information about only certain injuries,
illnesses, or episodes, this subdivision shall not require the provider
to prepare the summary required by this subdivision for other than
the injuries, illnesses, or episodes so requested by the patient or
patient’s representative. The summary shall contain for each injury,
illness, or episode any information included in the record relative
to the following:

(1)  Chief complaint or complaints including pertinent history.

(2)  Findings from consultations and referrals to other health
care providers.

(3)  Diagnosis, where determined.

(4)  Treatment plan and regimen including medications
prescribed.

(5)  Progress of the treatment.

(6)  Prognosis including significant continuing problems or
conditions.

(7)  Pertinent reports of diagnostic procedures and tests and all
discharge summaries.

(8)  Objective findings from the most recent physical
examination, such as blood pressure, weight, and actual values
from routine laboratory tests.

(c)  This section shall not be construed to require any medical
records to be written or maintained in any manner not otherwise
required by law.

(d)  The summary shall contain a list of all current medications
prescribed, including dosage, and any sensitivities or allergies to
medications recorded by the provider.

(e)  Subdivision (c) of Section 123110 shall be applicable
whether or not the health care provider elects to prepare a summary
of the record.

(f)  The health care provider may charge no more than a
reasonable fee based on actual time and cost for the preparation
of the summary. The cost shall be based on a computation of the
actual time spent preparing the summary for availability to the
patient or the patient’s representative. It is the intent of the
Legislature that summaries of the records be made available at the
lowest possible cost to the patient.

SEC. 2.  

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.

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