Connecticut 2021 Regular Session Status: In Committee

HB 6489 — AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH'S RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING REMOTE ACCESS TO MEDICAL RECORDS MAINTAINED BY HOSPITALS AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS.

Last action — FILE NO. 228

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 2021 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

121 added · 26 removed

121 line(s) added, 26 removed.

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General Assembly Raised Bill No.
House of Representatives General Assembly File No.
6489 January Session, 2021 LCO No.
228 January Session, 2021 House Bill No.
3619 Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH Introduced by:
6489 House of Representatives, March 31, 2021 The Committee on Public Health reported through REP.
(PH) AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH'S RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING REMOTE ACCESS TO MEDICAL RECORDS MAINTAINED BY HOSPITALS AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS.
STEINBERG of the 136th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH'S RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING REMOTE ACCESS TO MEDICAL RECORDS MAINTAINED BY HOSPITALS AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS.
(2) "Commissioner's list of reportable diseases, emergency illnesses LCO 3619 \\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2021HB-06489-R011 of 6 HB.docx Raised Bill No.
HB6489 / File No.
6489 and health conditions" and "commissioner's list of reportable laboratory findings" means the lists developed pursuant to section 19a-2a.
228 1 HB6489 File No.
228 (2) "Commissioner's list of reportable diseases, emergency illnesses and health conditions" and "commissioner's list of reportable laboratory findings" means the lists developed pursuant to section 19a-2a.
[All LCO 3619 {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2021HB-06489- 2 of 6 R01-HB.docx } Raised Bill No.
[All HB6489 / File No.
6489 such reports shall be confidential and not open to public inspection except as provided for in section 19a-25.] The Department of Public Health shall provide a copy of all such reports to the director of health of the town, city or borough in which the affected person resides or, in the absence of such information, the town where the specimen originated.
228 2 HB6489 File No.
228 such reports shall be confidential and not open to public inspection except as provided for in section 19a-25.] The Department of Public Health shall provide a copy of all such reports to the director of health of the town, city or borough in which the affected person resides or, in the absence of such information, the town where the specimen originated.
[(e)] (f) All personal information obtained from disease prevention and control investigations [as performed in subsections (c) and (d) of] pursuant to this section including the health care provider's name and theidentityofthereportedcase ofdisease andsuspectedsourcepersons and contacts shall not be divulged to anyone and shall be held strictly confidential pursuant to section 19a-25, by the local director of health and the director's authorized agent and by the Department of Public Health.
[(e)] (f) All personal information obtained from disease prevention and control investigations [as performed in subsections (c) and (d) of] pursuant to this section including the health care provider's name and theidentityofthereportedcase of disease andsuspectedsourcepersons and contacts shall not be divulged to anyone and shall be held strictly confidential pursuant to section 19a-25, by the local director of health and the director's authorized agent and by the Department of Public Health.
LCO 3619 {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2021HB-064893 of 6 R01-HB.docx } Raised Bill No.
HB6489 / File No.
6489 [(f)] (g) Any person who violates any reporting or confidentiality provision of this section shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars.
228 3 HB6489 File No.
228 [(f)] (g) Any person who violates any reporting or confidentiality provision of this section shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars.
A hospital, as identified by the Connecticut Hospital Association, shall provide the Department of Public Health with remote access to the entirety of a medical record, as the department deems necessary, to perform quality improvement audits to ensure completeness of reporting and data accuracy of birth, fetal death and LCO 3619 {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2021HB-064894 of 6 R01-HB.docx } Raised Bill No.
A hospital, as identified by the Connecticut Hospital Association, shall provide the Department of Public Health with remote access to the entirety of a medical record, as the department deems necessary, to perform quality improvement audits to ensure completeness of reporting and data accuracy of birth, fetal death and death occurrences.
6489 death occurrences.
No personal information obtained from the medical HB6489 / File No.
No personal information obtained from the medical record shall be divulged to anyone and shall be held strictly confidential pursuant to section 19a-25 of the general statutes by the Department of Public Health.
228 4 HB6489 File No.
228 record shall be divulged to anyone and shall be held strictly confidential pursuant to section 19a-25 of the general statutes by the Department of Public Health.
(c) Licensed health care providers, health care facilities and pharmacies shall provide the maternal mortality review program, LCO 3619 {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2021HB-064895 of 6 R01-HB.docx } Raised Bill No.
(c) Licensed health care providers, health care facilities and pharmacies shall provide the maternal mortality review program, established under this section with reasonable access to all relevant medical records associated with a maternal death case under review by HB6489 / File No.
6489 established under this section with reasonable access to all relevant medical records associated with a maternal death case under review by the program.
228 5 HB6489 File No.
228 the program.
3 July 1, 2021 New section October 1, 2021 Sec.
3 July 1, 2021 New section Sec.
4 19a-59h PH Joint Favorable LCO 3619 {\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2021HB-06489- 6 of 6 R01-HB.docx }
4 October 1, 2021 19a-59h PH Joint Favorable HB6489 / File No.
228 6 HB6489 File No.
228 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.
In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.
Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:
None Municipal Impact:
None Explanation This bill, which requires hospitals to provide the Department of Public Health with access to certain electronic medical records, is not anticipated to result in a fiscal impact to the state or municipalities.
The Out Years State Impact:
None Municipal Impact:
None HB6489 / File No.
228 7 HB6489 File No.
228 OLR Bill Analysis HB 6489 AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH'S RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING REMOTE ACCESS TO MEDICAL RECORDS MAINTAINED BY HOSPITALS AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS.
SUMMARY This bill requires hospitals to provide the Department of Public Health (DPH) access, including remote access if technically feasible, to complete electronic medical records on reportable diseases and emergency illnesses and health conditions, in a manner the commissioner approves (see BACKGROUND).
It also requires hospitals to grant DPH access, including remote access if technically feasible, to complete patient medical records related to the:
1.
Connecticut Tumor Registry, if the department deems it necessary to perform case findings or other quality improvement audits (see BACKGROUND) and 2.
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Maternal Mortality Review Program, if DPH deems it necessary to review case information relatedto a deathunder review by the program (see BACKGROUND).
(Existing law already grants DPH access to health care provider records for these purposes.) Under the bill, as under the existing law, these records generally (1) are confidential and not subject to disclosure, (2) are not admissible as evidence in any court or agency proceeding, and (3) must be used solely for medical or scientific research or disease control and prevention purposes.
HB6489 / File No.
228 8 HB6489 File No.
228 Additionally, the bill requires DPH, no earlier than July 1, 2021, to establish a one-year pilot program to initially test the impact of providing DPH remote access to complete hospital electronic medical records related to birth defects, births, fetal deaths, and death occurrences.
Within 30 days after the pilot program ends, DPH must determine whether it will be fully implemented.
If so, hospitals must start providing DPH access to these records on a continual basis.
Lastly, the bill makes technical changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
October 1, 2021, except the pilot program provisions take effect July 1, 2021.
PILOT PROGRAM The bill requires the Connecticut Hospital Association to identify one hospital to participate in the one-year pilot program, which DPH must establish no earlier than July 1, 2021.
That hospital must share complete electronic medical records related to birth defects, births, fetal deaths, and death occurrences that DPH deems necessary to perform quality improvement audits for related data accuracy and completeness of reporting.
Under the bill, these records are confidential in the same manner as described above.
The bill also requires DPH, no earlier than July 1, 2022, to evaluate the pilot program to determine any achieved (1) improvements in data accuracy and timeliness and (2) cost savings.
Within 30 days after the pilot programends, thecommissioner must determine whetherthepilot program will be fully implemented.
If so, hospitals must start providing DPH access to these records on a continual basis.
BACKGROUND DPH Reportable Disease List By law, DPH maintains an annual list of reportable diseases and emergency illnesses and conditions and reportable lab findings.
Health care providers and clinical laboratories must report cases of the listed conditions within certain timeframes to the department and the local health director where the case occurs.
HB6489 / File No.
228 9 HB6489 File No.
228 Connecticut Tumor Registry By law, the Connecticut Tumor Registry includes reports of all tumors and conditions that are diagnosed or treated in the state for which DPH requires reports.
Hospitals, various health care providers, and clinical laboratories must provide such reports to DPH for inclusion in the registry.
Maternity Mortality Review Program DPH’s Maternity Mortality Review Program identifies maternal deaths in Connecticut, and reviews related medical records and other relevant data, including death and birth records, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s files, and physician office and hospital records.
The program’s review committee conducts comprehensive, multidisciplinary reviews of maternal deaths to identify associated factors and make recommendations to reduce these deaths.
COMMITTEE ACTION Public Health Committee Joint Favorable Yea 29 Nay 4 (03/12/2021) HB6489 / File No.
228 10
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Action History

  1. FILE NO. 228

  2. HOUSE CALENDAR NUMBER 189

  3. FAV. RPT., TABLED FOR HOUSE CALENDAR

  4. RPTD. OUT OF LCO

  5. REFERRED TO Office of Legislative Research AND Office of Fiscal Analysis 03/30/21

  6. FILED WITH LCO

  7. Joint Favorable

  8. PUBLIC HEARING 0303

  9. REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Public Health

Sponsors

  • Public Health Committee · Primary

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 186 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

  • Public Health Committee

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (186)

186 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

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Subjects

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Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors HB 6489?
HB 6489 is sponsored by Public Health Committee.
What is the current status of HB 6489?
This bill died with 2021 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track HB 6489?
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