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Committee moves medical‑records bill; debate centers on solo‑practitioner records and successor obligations
Summary
SB 14 21 passed the Senate health committee with an amendment to require a provider or successor to return medical records to patients at their last known address; members questioned enforcement and DOH said Medicare participation generally implies electronic records.
The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services voted to pass SB 14 21 with amendments adding a requirement that a health‑care provider or a provider successor return medical records to the patient at the patient's last known address.
The bill prompted discussion about how medical records are handled when a solo‑practice clinician retires or unexpectedly dies. Committee members said they had experienced difficulty locating patient records in such cases. Department of Health staff told the committee that federal Medicare participation generally requires electronic medical records capable of interoperability and noted that their amendments had been designed to be workable for the department.
Senators asked whether providers could be required to notify patients and provide copies; DOH and staff said that requirement could be burdensome for providers but that successor obligations are contemplated in existing statute cited by staff. Lauren Kim of the Department of Health said DOH would not object to a provision requiring a successor or provider to provide records to patients at their last known address and noted that DOH's proposed technical amendments would make the approach more workable.
At decision making the chair proposed inserting the phrase "and return to patient at her or his last known address"; the amendment was accepted and the committee passed the bill with amendments.
