H. B. 4117
(By Delegates Beane, Webster,
R. Thompson, Staton and Varner)
[Introduced January 23, 2004; referred to the
Committee on Health and Human Resources then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §16-29-1 and §16-29-2 of the code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to copies of
medical records.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §16-29-1 and §16-29-2 of the code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 29. HEALTH CARE RECORDS.
§16-29-1. Copies of health care records to be furnished to
patients.
Any licensed, certified or registered health care provider so
licensed, certified or registered under the laws of this state
shall, upon the receipt of a
written request of or facsimile of
medical authorization from a patient, his or her authorized agent
or authorized representative, within a reasonable time, furnish a
copy, as requested, of all or a portion of the patient's record to the patient, his or her authorized agent or authorized
representative subject to the following exceptions: Provided, That
copies of medical billing shall not be considered as part of a
patient's record for the purposes of this article.
(a) In the case of a patient receiving treatment for
psychiatric or psychological problems, a summary of the record
shall be made available to the patient, his or her authorized agent
or authorized representative following termination of the treatment
program.
(b) Nothing in this article shall be construed to require a
health care provider responsible for diagnosis, treatment or
administering health care services in the case of minors for birth
control, prenatal care, drug rehabilitation or related services or
venereal disease according to any provision of this code, to
release patient records of such diagnosis, treatment or provision
of health care as aforesaid to a parent or guardian, without prior
written consent therefor from the patient, nor shall anything in
this article be construed to apply to persons regulated under the
provisions of chapter eighteen of this code or the rules and
regulations established thereunder.
(c) The furnishing of a copy, as requested, of the reports of
X-ray examinations, electrocardiograms and other diagnostic
procedures shall be deemed to comply with the provisions of this
article: Provided, That original radiological study film from a radiological exam conducted pursuant to a request from a patient or
patient's representative shall be provided to the patient or
patient's representative upon written request and payment for the
exam. The health care provider shall not be required to interpret
or retain copies of the film and shall be immune from liability
resulting from any action relating to the absence of the original
radiological film from the patient's record.
(d) This article shall not apply to records subpoenaed or
otherwise requested through court process.
(e) The provisions of this article may be enforced by a
patient, authorized agent or authorized representative, and any
health care provider found to be in violation of this article shall
pay any attorney fees and costs, including court costs incurred in
the course of such enforcement.
(f) Nothing in this article shall be construed to apply to
health care records maintained by health care providers governed by
the AIDS-related medical testing and records confidentiality act
under the provisions of article three-c of this chapter.
§16-29-2. Reasonable expenses to be reimbursed.
(a) The provider shall be reimbursed by the person requesting
in writing or by facsimile of medical authorization a copy of the
records at the time of delivery for all reasonable expenses
incurred in complying with this article: Provided, That a provider
shall furnish a copy of each bill requested pursuant to this article without charge: Provided, however, That the cost of
records for which a charge is to be reimbursed may not exceed
seventy-five cents per page for the copying of any record or
records which have already been reduced to written form and a
search fee may not exceed ten dollars.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this
section, a provider shall not impose a charge on an indigent person
or his or her authorized representative if the medical records are
necessary for the purpose of supporting a claim or appeal under any
provisions of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §301 et seq.
(c) For purposes of this section, a person is considered
indigent if he or she:
(1) Is represented by an organization or affiliated pro bono
program that provides legal assistance to indigents; or
(2) Verifies on a medical records request and release form
that the records are requested for purposes of supporting a social
security claim or appeal and submits with the release form
reasonable proof that the person is financially unable to pay full
copying charges by reason of unemployment, disability, income below
the federal poverty level, or receipt of state or federal income
assistance.
(d) Any person requesting free copies of written medical
records pursuant to the provisions of subsection (b) of this
section is limited to one set of copies per provider. Any additional requests for the same records from the same provider
shall be subject to the fee provisions of subsection (a) of this
section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require medical
providers to furnish patients copies of medical records without
prepayment and to furnish copies of bills without cost. The bill
also provides that faxed medical authorizations may be used the
same as originals.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.