BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2059
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2059 (Muratsuchi)
As Amended May 1, 2014
Majority vote
HEALTH 19-0 JUDICIARY 10-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Pan, Maienschein, |Ayes:|Wieckowski, Wagner, |
| |Ammiano, Rendon, Bonilla, | |Alejo, Chau, Dickinson, |
| |Bonta, Ch�vez, Chesbro, | |Garcia, Gorell, |
| |Gomez, Gonzalez, | |Maienschein, Muratsuchi, |
| |Roger Hern�ndez, | |Stone |
| |Lowenthal, Mansoor, | | |
| |Nazarian, Waldron, | | |
| |Patterson, Ridley-Thomas, | | |
| |Wagner, Wieckowski | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Requires a health care provider to provide an
electronic copy of the requested medical record when an attorney
presents written authorization signed by the patient or
patient's representative if the medical record exists in a
digital or electronic format that can be delivered
electronically, and allows the health care provider to charge
reasonable per page, retrieval, and processing fees. Increases
the time in which the health care provider must make the
requested medical records available to the attorney from five to
15 days.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill will update
existing law to reflect the use of electronic medical records
(EMRs) and that current law has failed to keep pace with the
rapidly changing nature of technology. The author states that
charging patients a per page fee is impractical when medical
records are being sent through electronic delivery.
According to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, an
EMR is an electronic version of a patient's medical history that
is maintained by the provider over time and may include all of
the key administrative and clinical data relevant to that
person's care under a particular provider including
AB 2059
Page 2
demographics, progress notes, problems, medications, vital
signs, past medical history, immunizations, laboratory data, and
radiology reports.
The sponsor, Consumer Attorneys of California, states that this
bill would modernize current law, which allows an attorney, with
authorization, to request the medical records of a patient.
Current law contains no reference to EMRs; instead, a per page
charge of $0.10 is allowed. However, that per page cost does
not make sense when the medical records are sent via electronic
delivery. The American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO writes in support of this bill that
if a patient's attorney has written authorization to inspect and
copy a medical record, it is common sense that it should be
delivered as such, rather than using a professional photocopier.
This bill has no opposition.
Analysis Prepared by : Patty Rodgers / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097
FN: 0003350