06 LC 29
2307
House
Bill 1510
By:
Representative Fleming of the
117th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 33 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to health records, so as to authorize certain individuals to obtain patient
records; to change certain provisions relating to furnishing a copy of records
to patient, provider, or other authorized person; to provide for compliance with
the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996; to
provide for a time period in which records shall be produced in response to a
valid request; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and
for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
33 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to health
records, is amended by striking subsections (a) and (b) of Code Section 31-33-2,
relating to furnishing a copy of records to patient, provider, or other
authorized person, and inserting in its place the following:
"(a)(1)(A)
A provider having custody and control of any evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis,
laboratory report, or biopsy slide in a
patient́s
record shall retain such item for a period of not less than ten years from the
date such item was created.
(B)
The requirements of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall not apply
to:
(i)
An individual provider who has retired from or sold his or her professional
practice if such provider has notified the patient of such retirement or sale
and offered to provide such items in the
patient́s
record or copies thereof to another provider of the
patient́s
choice and, if the patient so requests, to the patient; or
(ii)
A hospital which is an institution as defined in subparagraph (B) of paragraph
(1) of Code Section 31-7-1, which shall retain patient records in accordance
with rules and regulations for hospitals as issued by the department pursuant to
Code Section 31-7-2.
(2)
Upon written request from the patient or a person authorized to have access to
the
patient́s
record under a health care power of attorney for such patient, the provider
having custody and control of the
patient́s
record shall furnish a complete and current copy of that record, in accordance
with the provisions of this Code section. If the patient is deceased, such
request may be made by
a person
authorized immediately prior to the
decedent́s
death to have access to the
patient́s
record under a health care power of attorney for such patient; the executor,
temporary executor, administrator, or temporary administrator for the
decedent́s
estate; or any survivor, as defined by Code Sections 51-4-2, 51-4-4, and
51-4-5.
the following
persons:
(A)
The executor, administrator, or temporary administrator for the
decedent́s
estate if such person has been appointed;
(B)
If an executor, administrator, or temporary administrator for the
decedent́s
estate has not been appointed, by the surviving spouse;
(C)
If there is no surviving spouse, by any surviving child;
(D)
If there is no surviving child, any parent.
(b)
Any record requested under subsection (a) of this Code section
shall, within
30 days of the receipt of a request for
records be furnished
within a
reasonable period of time to the patient,
any other provider designated by the patient, any person authorized by paragraph
(2) of subsection (a) of this Code section to request a
patient́s
or deceased
patient́s
medical records, or any other person designated by the patient.
Such record
request shall be accompanied by:
(1)
An authorization in compliance with the federal Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996, 42 U.S.C. Section 1320d-2, et seq., and regulations
implementing such act; and
(2)
A signed written authorization as specified in subsection (d) of this Code
Section."
SECTION
2.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.