BILL NUMBER: AB 268	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Holden

                        FEBRUARY 7, 2013

   An act to amend Section 123130 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to health records.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 268, as introduced, Holden. Health records: access.
   Existing law provides that a patient or his or her representative
is entitled to inspect a patient's health records upon presenting a
written request and upon payment for reasonable clerical costs
incurred in locating and making the records available. Existing law
authorizes a health care provider to prepare a summary of the patient'
s record for inspection and copying by a patient rather than allowing
the patient to access the entire record. A willful violation of
these provisions by certain health care providers is an infraction.
   This bill would, in addition, authorize a health care provider to
prepare the summary of the patient's record for inspection and
copying by the patient's representative. Because the bill would
change the definition of an infraction, it would constitute a
state-mandated local program.
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 123130 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
   123130.  (a)  A health care provider may prepare a summary of the
record, according to the requirements of this section, for inspection
and copying by a patient  or patient's representative  . If
the health care provider chooses to prepare a summary of the record
rather than allowing access to the entire record, he or she shall
make the summary of the record available to the patient  or
patient's representative  within 10 working days from the date
of the patient's  or patient's representative's  request.
However, if more time is needed because the record is of
extraordinary length or because the patient was discharged from a
licensed health facility within the last 10 days, the health care
provider shall notify the patient    or patient's
representative  of this fact and the date that the summary will
be completed, but in no case shall more than 30 days elapse between
the request by the patient  or patient's representative  and
the delivery of the summary. In preparing the summary of the record
the health care provider shall not be obligated to include
information that is not contained in the original record.
   (b)  A health care provider may confer with the patient  or
patient's representative  in an attempt to clarify the patient's
 or patient's representative's  purpose and goal in
obtaining  his or her   the patient's 
record. If as a consequence the patient    or patient's
representative  requests information about only certain
injuries, illnesses, or episodes, this subdivision shall not require
the provider to prepare the summary required by this subdivision for
other than the injuries, illnesses, or episodes so requested by the
patient  or patient's representative  . The summary shall
contain for each injury, illness, or episode any information included
in the record relative to the following:
   (1)  Chief complaint or complaints including pertinent history.
   (2)  Findings from consultations and referrals to other health
care providers.
   (3)  Diagnosis, where determined.
   (4)  Treatment plan and regimen including medications prescribed.
   (5)  Progress of the treatment.
   (6)  Prognosis including significant continuing problems or
conditions.
   (7)  Pertinent reports of diagnostic procedures and tests and all
discharge summaries.
   (8)  Objective findings from the most recent physical examination,
such as blood pressure, weight, and actual values from routine
laboratory tests.
   (c)  This section shall not be construed to require any medical
records to be written or maintained in any manner not otherwise
required by law.
   (d)  The summary shall contain a list of all current medications
prescribed, including dosage, and any sensitivities or allergies to
medications recorded by the provider.
   (e)  Subdivision (c) of Section 123110 shall be applicable whether
or not the health care provider elects to prepare a summary of the
record.
   (f)  The health care provider may charge no more than a reasonable
fee based on actual time and cost for the preparation of the
summary. The cost shall be based on a computation of the actual time
spent preparing the summary for availability to the patient or the
patient's representative. It is the intent of the Legislature that
summaries of the records be made available at the lowest possible
cost to the patient.
  SEC. 2.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.