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House passes narrow change to liability for accessing electronic health records
Summary
House Bill 77, requested by the Department of Health, adds a narrow window of limited liability for the act of accessing or reviewing certain electronic health records; the sponsor said the change removes a barrier to information exchange while preserving liability for misuse.
House Bill 77, requested by the Utah Department of Health, passed the House after a brief floor exchange clarifying its narrow scope.
Representative Doth, sponsor, told members the bill creates a small window of immunity so that the act of accessing or reviewing electronic patient information for legitimate purposes (subject to existing HIPAA and other rules) would not itself be grounds for malpractice action. He emphasized that if a provider takes improper action with the information, they remain liable.
Representative King asked whether the state had seen litigation caused by access to this information in recent years. Representative Doth said he was not aware of litigation directly caused by the lack of this statutory language, but that the Department of Health has been cautious and supports the change to help unblock information-exchange bottlenecks.
The House waived extended debate and passed HB77 (73–0), transmitting the bill to the Senate.
