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Committee approves substitute to let fatality review boards access certain treatment records with privacy guardrails
Summary
Lawmakers adopted a substitute to SB 96 to clarify how opioid fatality review boards and the medical examiner can access treatment records for review while respecting federal privacy protections and not superseding criminal investigations.
Senator Plumb described SB 96 (first substitute) as a measure to help opioid fatality review boards and the Office of the Medical Examiner gather information that could identify system gaps after a death, while preserving federal privacy protections for treatment records.
"The office of the medical examiner needs to see those records," Plumb said, but added the substitute was drafted to ensure reviewers do not supersede criminal investigative authority or run afoul of 42 CFR protections around treatment records. She said the substitute removed an initial MOU requirement and clarified implementation details requested by DCFS and administrative partners.
Plumb said review teams typically include health-system reviewers, law enforcement, corrections, and prescription monitoring data reviewers; allowing appropriate access to treatment records, she said, could reveal patterns that inform prevention.
After adopting the substitute by voice vote, a committee member moved SB 96 out favorably and the measure passed the committee.
