BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 578
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 17, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Susan A. Bonilla, Chair
SB 578 (Wyland) - As Amended: June 9, 2014
SENATE VOTE : vote not relevant.
SUBJECT : Marriage and family therapists: records retention.
SUMMARY : Requires a licensed marriage and family therapist
(LMFT), a licensed educational psychologist (LEP), a licensed
clinical social worker (LCSW), and a licensed professional
clinical counselor (LPCC) to retain a patient or client's health
service record for seven years, as specified. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Requires a LMFT, LEP, LCSW and an LPCC to retain a patient or
client's health service record for a minimum of seven years
from the date therapy is terminated.
2)Specifies that if the patient or client is a minor, the health
services records must be retained for a minimum of seven years
from the date the patient reaches 18 years of age.
3)States that the recordkeeping provisions only apply patient or
client records whose therapy is terminated on or after January
1, 2015.
4)States that no reimbursement is required by this bill pursuant
to the California Constitution because the only costs that may
be incurred by a local agency or a school district will be
incurred because this bill creates a new crime or infraction,
eliminates a crime or infraction, changes the penalty for a
crime or infraction, or changes the definition of a crime, as
specified.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires licensed providers of health services, if the
licensee ceases operation, to preserve records for a minimum
of seven years following discharge of the patient, except that
the records of un-emancipated minors shall be kept at least
one year after the minor has reached the age of 18 years, and
SB 578
Page 2
in any case, not less than seven years, as specified. (Health
and Safety Code Section 123145)
2)Requires a licensed psychologist to retain a patient's health
service records for a minimum of seven years from the
patient's discharge date and specifies that if the patient is
a minor, the patient's health service records shall be
retained for a minimum of seven years from the date the
patient reaches 18 years of age. (Business and Profession
Code Section 2919)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill . This bill requires LMFTs, LEPs, LCSWs,
and LPCCs to retain patient or client healthcare records for
seven years, which is consistent with practices in other
healthcare setting such as skilled nursing facilities,
adult-day health care and mental health clinics. The
retention requirement aims to curb inconsistent recordkeeping
amongst private practice behavioral healthcare specialists and
will help standardize record requirements across the health
care spectrum. This bill is sponsored by the California
Association of Marriage and Family Therapists.
2)Author's statement . According to the author, "[This bill]
will establish a record retention statute for LMFTs, LPCCs,
LCSWs, LEP in private practice. Both the Board of Behavioral
Sciences (BBS) and the California Association of Marriage and
Family Therapists (CAMFT) receive complaints and questions
from California practitioners about ambiguous private practice
record retention requirements. The absence of state law
results in a non-standardized record retention for mental
health records kept by private practices.
"In the absence of specific federal [legislation], state
legislation or regulation, CAMFT routinely recommends that
mental health care records be kept for a minimum of seven
years, using the psychologists' requirement as the standard
for the profession. [This bill] will establish a seven year
records retention schedule for LMFTs, LPCCs, LCSWs, and LEPs
that conforms to the existing records retention schedule for
those who practice in licensed clinics, nursing facilities,
intermediate care facilities, adult day health care and
SB 578
Page 3
skilled nursing homes. It will also codify that if the
patient is a minor, the patient's health service records shall
be retained for a minimum of seven years from the date the
patient reaches 18 years of age."
3)Varied patient healthcare recordkeeping requirements .
Currently, there is no uniform standard for patient record
retention in California, especially for many in private
practice. For example, physicians are not required to
maintain patient medical records for a specific amount of
time. However, current law requires certain healthcare
facilities such as healthcare clinics, health facilities,
adult day health centers and skilled nursing facilities to
preserve patient records for a minimum of seven years
following discharge of the patient, and the records of
un-emancipated minors shall be kept at least one year after
the minor has reached the age of 18 years, and in any case,
not less than seven years.
According to the Medical Board of California, several areas of
law specify a three-year retention period, including those
records pertaining to Medi-Cal patients, records of services
reimbursed by Emergency Medical Services Fund and those
dealing with a physician prescribing dispensing or
administering a Schedule II controlled substance. In
addition, optometrists are required to retain patient records
for a minimum of seven years from the date the individual
completes treatment, and if the patient is a minor, the
records must be retained for a minimum of seven years from the
date the individual completes treatment and at least until the
patient reaches 19 years of age.
4)Psychologists . Current law requires licensed psychologists to
retain a patient's health service records for a minimum of
seven years from the patient's discharge date. The law
specifies that if the patient is a minor, the patient's health
service records shall be retained for a minimum of seven years
from the date the patient reaches 18 years of age. The
provisions of this bill for LMFTs, LEPs, LCSWs, and LPCCs are
modeled after the current requirements for psychologists.
5)Arguments in support . According to the California Association
of Marriage and Family Therapists, "current law does not
prescribe the amount of time a therapist is required to retain
client records. The absence of such a law creates confusion
SB 578
Page 4
for LMFTs regarding the length of time patient records must be
kept, when patient records must be destroyed, and subject
LMFTs to non-standardized record retention guidelines
pertaining to their profession. This law would eliminate any
ambiguity by establishing a specific time period LMFTs in
private practice are required to retain the records of both
minor and adult patients."
6)Suggested technical amendment . As written, this bill requires
LMFTs, LEPs, LCSWs, and LPCCs to retain a client or patient's
health record for a minimum of seven years; however, the
language does not specify if the record needs to be a written
record or an electronic record. The suggested amendment will
clarify that both written and electronic forms of record
retention are acceptable.
On page 2, line 8, after "age." insert "Health service
records may be retained in both written and electronic
formats."
On page 2, line 17, after "age." insert "Health service
records may be retained in both written and electronic
formats."
On page 2, line 27, after "age." insert "Health service
records may be retained in both written and electronic
formats."
On page 3, line 10, after "age." insert "Health service
records may be retained in both written and electronic
formats."
7)Senate vote not relevant . This bill was voted off the Senate
Floor (32-0), on May 6, 2013, as a substantially different
subject. This bill, in its current form, has not been heard
by a policy committee in the Senate or the Assembly.
8)Previous legislation . AB 2257 (Committee on Business and
Professions) Chapter 89, Statutes of 2006, requires
psychologists to maintain a patient's records for seven years
from the patient's discharge date, or in the case of a minor,
seven years after the minor reaches 18 years of age.
AB 986 (Eng) Chapter 276, Statutes of 2007, establishes a
retention period for optometrists to maintain patient records,
SB 578
Page 5
allows the practice of optometry at temporary locations under
certain conditions, increases the amount of fees charged for
optometry licensing, and creates new fees to be paid by
licensed optometrists for services provided to them by the
Board of Optometry.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
(sponsor)
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Elissa Silva / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301