AB 1683, as amended, Jones. Ken Maddy California Cancer Registry.
Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to establish a statewide system for the collection of information determining the incidence of cancer known as the Ken Maddy California Cancer Registry. Existing law authorizes the department to designate any demographic parts of the state as regional cancer incidence reporting areas and establish regional cancer registries to provide cancer incidence data. Under existing law, all cancers diagnosed or treated in the reported area are required to be reported to the representative of the department authorized to compile that data, or any other person or entity designated to cooperate with that representative. Existing regulations require cancer reporting facilities and physicians to employ a mechanism to ensure that their patients are informed that the facility will report each patient with cancer to the State Department of Public Health as required by law.
Under existing law, health care practitioners, including, among others, physicians and surgeons, and any hospital or other facility providing diagnostic or treatment services to patients with cancer are required to grant to the department or the authorized representative access to all records that would identify cases of cancer or would establish characteristics of the cancer, treatment of the cancer, or medical status of any identified cancer patient. All information collected pursuant to those provisions is generally required to be kept confidential. Existing law authorizes the department to enter into agreements to furnish confidential information to specified persons and entities, including other states’ cancer registries, local health officers, and health researchers.
This bill would require the State Department of Public Health to inform a patient diagnosed with cancer by, or
receiving cancer therapy treatment from, a specified health care practitioner, or a hospital or other facility within an area designated as a cancer reporting area of the reporting requirement, and would require the department to also notify a patient of specified information, including, among other things, that the department is authorized to release confidential patient information to health researchers.begin insert The bill would prohibit cancer reporting facilities and physicians from being required to employ a mechanism to ensure that their patients are informed that the facility will report each patient with cancer to the State Department of Public Health.end insert This bill would require the department to notify the patient, in a cost-effective manner, within 6 months of his or her case being reported to the department.begin delete The bill would also prohibit the department from disclosing confidential patient information to certain specified persons or entities until the department informs the patient of the reporting requirement. The bill would also allow a patient to refuse to participate in any research study and authorizes a patient to request that his or her contact information be withheld from health researchers.end delete
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 103886 is added to the Health and Safety
2Code, to read:
(a) (1) A patient diagnosed with cancer, or provided
4treatment for cancer, by a physician and surgeon, dentist, podiatrist,
5or other health care practitioner or a patient receiving cancer
6therapy treatment from any hospital or other facility within an area
P3 1designated as a cancer reporting area shall be informed by the
2department of the reporting requirement described in subdivision
3(d) of Section 103885.begin insert Cancer reporting facilities and physicians
4shall not be required to employ a mechanism to ensure that their
5patients are informed that cancer has been designated as a
6reportable disease or that the facility will report each patient with
7cancer to the
department.end insert
8 (2) The department shall notify the patient of all of the following
9information:
10(A) A description of the cancer registry, as provided in
11subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 103885.
12(B) An explanation of how the department obtains all records
13that would identify cases of cancer and the type of information
14collected by the department, as described in subdivision (f) of
15Section 103885.
16(C) The purposes for which the information obtained by the
17department is collected and intended to be used, as described in
18subdivision (g) of Section 103885.
19(D) The
authorization of the department to release confidential
20patient information to any person with a valid scientific interest,
21other states’ cancer registries, federal cancer control agencies,
22local health officers, or health researchers, pursuant to subdivision
23(g) of Section 103885.
24(E) The discretion of a patient to refuse to participate in any
25research study and to request that his or her contact information
26bebegin delete withheld, pursuant to subdivision (c).end deletebegin insert withheld.end insert
27(F) The benefits of participating in cancer research, including,
28but not limited to, the opportunity to contribute to the discovery
29of improved treatments
and survival rates for cancer patients.
30(3) The department shall notify the patient of the reporting
31requirement and the information described in paragraph (2) within
32six months of his or her case being reported to the department.
33(b) The department shall not disclose confidential information
34to any persons, other states’ cancer registries, federal cancer control
35agencies, local health officers, or health researchers pursuant to
36subdivision (g) of Section 103885, until the department informs
37the patient of the reporting requirement described in subdivision
38(d) of Section 103885.
39(c) The patient may refuse to participate in any research study
40and
may request that his or her contact information be withheld
P4 1from those persons or health researchers who obtain the patient’s
2confidential information pursuant to Section 103885.
3(d)
end delete
4begin insert(end insertbegin insertb)end insert All notifications to the patient required under this section
5shall be distributed in a cost-effective manner, including, but not
6limited to, by e-mail.
7(e)
end delete
8begin insert(end insertbegin insertc)end insert The department shall adopt regulations as it determines are
9necessary for the implementation of this section in accordance
10with the Administrative Procedure Act, Chapter 3.5 (commencing
11with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
12Government Code.
O
97