Reference is to the bill as introduced.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by deleting all after the enacting words and inserting:
/ SECTION 1. Section 44-7-325 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 44-7-325.
(A)(1) A health care facility,
as defined in Section 44-7-130, and a health care provider
licensed pursuant to Title 40 may charge a fee for the search
and duplication of a medical record, whether in paper format
or electronic format, but the fee may not exceed:
(a)
Sixty-five cents per page for the first thirty
printed pages and fifty cents per page for all other
pages, and plus a clerical fee not to
exceed twenty dollars for searching and handling, which
combined with the per page print costs may not
to exceed fifteen two
hundred dollars per request plus, and to
which may be added actual postage and applicable sales tax.
(b)
Sixty-five cents per page for the first thirty
pages provided in an electronic format and fifty cents per page
for all other pages provided in an electronic format, plus a
clerical fee not to exceed twenty dollars for searching and
handling, which combined with the per page costs may not exceed
one hundred and fifty dollars, but to which may be added actual
postage and applicable sales tax.
(2)
However Notwithstanding the
provisions of subsection (A), no fee may be charged for
records copied at the request of a health care provider or for
records sent to a health care provider at the request of the
patient for the purpose of continuing medical care.
(3)
The facility or provider may charge a patient or
the patient's representative no more than the actual cost of
reproduction of an X-ray. Actual cost means the cost of
materials and supplies used to duplicate the X-ray and the labor
and overhead costs associated with the duplication.
(B) Except for those
requests for medical records pursuant to Section 42-15-95:
(1)
A health care facility shall comply with a request for
copies of a medical record:
(a)
no later than forty-five days after the patient has
been discharged or forty-five days after the request is
received, whichever is later; and
(b)
in a printed format or in an electronic format
if requested to be delivered in electronic format, but only if
the record is stored in an electronic format at the time of the
request.
(2)
Nothing in this section may compel a health care facility
to release a copy of a medical record prior to thirty days after
discharge of the patient."
SECTION 2. Section 44-115-30 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 44-115-30. A patient or his legal representative has a right to receive a copy of his medical record, or have the record transferred to another physician, upon request, when accompanied by a written authorization from the patient or his legal representative to release the record. The patient or his legal representative is entitled to receive a copy of the record either in an electronic format or as a photocopied reproduction, and the physician or other owner of the record shall provide the record in the format requested by the patient or his legal representative; provided, however, that if the physician or other owner of the record does not possess an electronic version of the record, it may satisfy the request by providing a photocopied reproduction."
SECTION 3. Section 44-115-80 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 44-115-80.
(A) A physician, or other owner
of medical records as provided for in Section 44-115-130, may
charge a fee for the search and duplication of a paper or
electronic medical record, but the fee may not
exceed:
(1)
Sixty-five cents per page for the first thirty
printed pages and fifty cents per page for all other
printed pages, and plus a
clerical fee not to exceed twenty dollars for searching
and handling, which combined with the per page print costs
may not to exceed fifteen
two hundred dollars per request plus,
and to which may be added actual postage and applicable
sales tax.
(2)
Sixty-five cents per page for the first thirty
pages provided in an electronic format and fifty cents per page
for all other pages provided in an electronic format, plus a
clerical fee not to exceed twenty dollars for searching and
handling, which combined with the per page costs may not exceed
one hundred and fifty dollars, but to which may be added actual
postage and applicable sales tax.
(B) A
physician, health care provider, or other owner of medical
records must provide a patient's medical records at no charge
when the patient is referred by the physician, health care
provider, or an employee, agent, or contractor of the owner of
the record to another physician or health care provider for
continuation of treatment for a specific condition or
conditions.
(C) The
physician may charge a patient or the patient's legal
representative no more than the actual cost of reproduction of
an X-ray. Actual cost means the cost of materials and supplies
used to duplicate the X-ray and the labor and overhead costs
associated with the duplication."
SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.