Current Status Introducing Body:Senate Bill Number:48 Primary Sponsor:Bryan Type of Legislation:GB Subject:Patient Medical Records Act Residing Body:House Computer Document Number:436/12788AC.93 Introduced Date:19930112 Date of Last Amendment:19940519 Last History Body:House Last History Date:19940526 Last History Type:Objection by Representative Scope of Legislation:Statewide All Sponsors:Bryan Type of Legislation:General Bill
Bill Body Date Action Description CMN Leg Involved
____ ______ ____________ ______________________________ ___ ____________
48 House 19940526 Objection by Representative Hodges
Tucker
McMahand
J. Harris
Carnell
Rogers
Scott
White
48 House 19940525 Debate adjourned until
Thursday, 19940526
48 House 19940524 Debate adjourned until
Wednesday, 19940525
48 House 19940524 Reconsidered vote whereby
read second time
48 House 19940519 Amended, read second time
48 House 19940518 Debate adjourned until
Thursday, 19940519
48 House 19940517 Debate adjourned until
Wednesday, 19940518
48 House 19940427 Committee Report: Favorable 27
with amendment
48 House 19940407 Introduced, read first time, 27
referred to Committee
48 Senate 19940406 Read third time, sent to House
48 Senate 19940405 Amended, read second time,
ordered to third reading with
notice of general amendments
48 Senate 19940331 Committee Report: Favorable 13
with amendment
48 Senate 19930112 Introduced, read first time, 13
referred to Committee
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
AMENDED
May 19, 1994
S. 48
S. Printed 5/19/94--H.
Read the first time April 7, 1994.
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 44-115-15 SO AS TO ADD THE DEFINITION OF "HEALTH CARE PROVIDER"; AND TO AMEND TITLE 44, CHAPTER 115, RELATING TO THE PHYSICIANS' PATIENT RECORDS ACT, SO AS TO CHANGE THIS CHAPTER TO THE "PATIENT MEDICAL RECORDS ACT" AND TO CHANGE REFERENCES FROM "PHYSICIAN" TO "HEALTH CARE PROVIDER" THROUGHOUT THE CHAPTER.
Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 44-7-325. (A) 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, but the fee may not exceed sixty-five cents per page for the first thirty pages and fifty cents per page for all other pages, and a clerical fee for searching and handling not to exceed fifteen dollars per request plus actual postage and applicable sales tax. 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 no later than forty-five days after the patient has been discharged or forty-five days after the request is received, whichever is later.
(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 38-77-341(5) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 148 of 1989, is amended to read:
"(5) charge for copies of medical records or other records provided more than fifty cents per page, except that a minimum charge of ten dollars for furnishing copies of these records is authorized to be charged by insurers or health care providers. 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 for and duplication of a medical record, but the fee may not exceed sixty-five cents per page for the first thirty pages and fifty cents per page for all other pages, and a clerical fee for searching and handling not to exceed fifteen dollars per request plus actual postage and applicable sales tax. 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."
SECTION 3. Section 42-15-95 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 476 of 1990, is further amended to read:
"Section 42-15-95. All existing information compiled by a treatment health care facility, as defined in Section 44-7-130, or a physician health care provider licensed pursuant to Title 40 pertaining directly to a workers' compensation claim must be provided to the insurance carrier, the employer, the employee, their attorneys, or the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission, within fourteen days after receipt of written request. The cost for receiving this information is fifty cents a page, with a minimum charge of ten dollars. Actual postage costs, if any, also must be paid for receiving the information. A health care facility and a health care provider may charge a fee for the search and duplication of a medical record, but the fee may not exceed sixty-five cents per page for the first thirty pages and fifty cents per page for all other pages, and a clerical fee for searching and handling not to exceed fifteen dollars per request plus actual postage and applicable sales tax. 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. If a treatment facility or physician fails to send the requested information within forty-five days after receipt of the request, the person or entity making the request may apply to the commission for an appropriate penalty payable to the commission, not to exceed two hundred dollars."
SECTION 4. Section 44-115-80 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 480 of 1992, is amended to read:
"Section 44-115-80. A physician may charge a fee of fifty cents a page or a minimum fee of ten dollars, plus actual postage costs, for making copies of existing medical records for the search and duplication of a medical record, but the fee may not exceed sixty-five cents per page for the first thirty pages and fifty cents per page for all other pages, and a clerical fee for searching and handling not to exceed fifteen dollars per request plus actual postage and applicable sales tax. The physician 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."
SECTION 5. Section 44-29-230 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 44-29-230. (A) While working with a patient person or a patient's person's blood or body fluids, if a health care worker or emergency response employee is involved in an incident resulting in possible exposure to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), and a health care professional has probable cause to believe that the incident may have caused infection, the professional may require the patient to be tested. The test results must be given to the professional who shall report the results to the worker and patient bloodborne diseases, and a health care professional based on reasonable medical judgment has cause to believe that the incident may pose a significant risk to the health care worker or emergency response employee, the health care professional may require the person, the health care worker, or the emergency response employee to be tested without their consent.
(B) The test results must be given to the health care professional who shall report the results and assure the provision of post-test counseling to the health care worker or emergency response employee, and the person who is tested. The test results also shall be reported to the Department of Health and Environmental Control in a manner prescribed by law.
(C) No physician, hospital, or other health care provider may be held liable for conducting the test or the reporting of test results under this section.
(D) For purposes of this section:
(1) `Person' means a patient at a health care facility or physician's office, an inmate at a state or local correctional facility, an individual under arrest, or an individual in the custody of or being treated by a health care worker or an emergency response employee.
(2) `Emergency response employee' means firefighters, law enforcement officers, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, medical residents, medical trainees, trainees of an emergency response employee as defined herein, and other persons, including employees of legally organized and recognized volunteer organizations without regard to whether these employees receive compensation, who in the course of their professional duties respond to emergencies.
(3) `Bloodborne diseases' means Hepatitis B or Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection, including Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.
(4) `Significant risk' means a finding of facts relating to a human exposure to an etiologic agent for a particular disease, based on reasonable medical judgments given the state of medical knowledge, about the:
(a) nature of the risk;
(b) duration of the risk;
(c) severity of the risk;
(d) probabilities the disease will be transmitted and will cause varying degrees of harm.
(5) `Health care professional' means a physician, an epidemiologist, or infection control practitioner.
(6) `Health care worker' means a person licensed as a health care provider under Title 40, a person registered under the laws of this State to provide health care services, an employee of a health care facility as defined in Section 44-7-130(10), or an employee in a physician's office.
(E) The cost of any test conducted under this section must be paid by the:
(1) person being tested;
(2) State in the case of indigents; or
(3) public or private entity employing the health care worker or emergency response employee if the cost is not paid pursuant to subitems (1) and (2) above."
SECTION 6. The patient is entitled to one copy of his or her medical records without charge.
SECTION 7. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.