S‑0474.1   _____________________________________________

SENATE BILL 5098

           _____________________________________________

State of Washington      57th Legislature     2001 Regular Session

By Senator Winsley

Read first time 01/10/2001.  Referred to Committee on Health & Long‑Term Care.

_1      AN ACT Relating to the costs for reproducing health care

_2  records; and amending RCW 70.02.010.

_3  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

_4      Sec. 1.  RCW 70.02.010 and 1993 c 448 s 1 are each amended to read

_5  as follows:

_6      As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

_7      (1) "Audit" means an assessment, evaluation, determination, or

_8  investigation of a health care provider by a person not employed

_9  by or affiliated with the provider to determine compliance with:

10      (a) Statutory, regulatory, fiscal, medical, or scientific

11  standards;

12      (b) A private or public program of payments to a health care

13  provider; or

14      (c) Requirements for licensing, accreditation, or

15  certification.

16      (2) "Directory information" means information disclosing the

17  presence, and for the purpose of identification, the name,

18  residence, sex, and the general health condition of a particular

                               p. 1                       SB 5098

_1  patient who is a patient in a health care facility or who is

_2  currently receiving emergency health care in a health care

_3  facility.

_4      (3) "General health condition" means the patient's health

_5  status described in terms of "critical," "poor," "fair," "good,"

_6  "excellent," or terms denoting similar conditions.

_7      (4) "Health care" means any care, service, or procedure

_8  provided by a health care provider:

_9      (a) To diagnose, treat, or maintain a patient's physical or

10  mental condition; or

11      (b) That affects the structure or any function of the human

12  body.

13      (5) "Health care facility" means a hospital, clinic, nursing

14  home, laboratory, office, or similar place where a health care

15  provider provides health care to patients.

16      (6) "Health care information" means any information, whether

17  oral or recorded in any form or medium, that identifies or can

18  readily be associated with the identity of a patient and directly

19  relates to the patient's health care.  The term includes any record

20  of disclosures of health care information.

21      (7) "Health care provider" means a person who is licensed,

22  certified, registered, or otherwise authorized by the law of this

23  state to provide health care in the ordinary course of business or

24  practice of a profession.

25      (8) "Institutional review board" means any board, committee, or

26  other group formally designated by an institution, or authorized

27  under federal or state law, to review, approve the initiation of,

28  or conduct periodic review of research programs to assure the

29  protection of the rights and welfare of human research subjects.

30      (9) "Maintain," as related to health care information, means to

31  hold, possess, preserve, retain, store, or control that

32  information.

33      (10) "Patient" means an individual who receives or has received

34  health care.  The term includes a deceased individual who has

35  received health care.

36      (11) "Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust,

37  estate, trust, partnership, association, joint venture,

SB 5098                        p. 2

_1  government, governmental subdivision or agency, or any other legal

_2  or commercial entity.

_3      (12) "Reasonable fee" means the charges for duplicating ((or

_4  searching)) the record, but shall not exceed sixty-five cents per

_5  page for the first thirty pages and fifty cents per page for all

_6  other pages.  In addition, a clerical fee for searching and handling

_7  may be charged not to exceed fifteen dollars.  A health care

_8  provider may not charge a second clerical fee to produce the

_9  medical bill; one clerical fee may be charged for both the

10  treatment records and bills for treatment with the health care

11  provider.  The clerical fee for a health care provider who permits

12  an independent medical records copying service to retrieve and

13  duplicate the medical records shall not exceed ten dollars.  These

14  amounts shall be adjusted biennially in accordance with changes in

15  the consumer price index, all consumers, for Seattle-Tacoma

16  metropolitan statistical area as determined by the secretary of

17  health.  However, where editing of records by a health care provider

18  is required by statute and is done by the provider personally, the

19  fee may be the usual and customary charge for a basic office

20  visit.

21      (13) "Third-party payor" means an insurer regulated under Title

22  48 RCW authorized to transact business in this state or other

23  jurisdiction, including a health care service contractor, and

24  health maintenance organization; or an employee welfare benefit

25  plan; or a state or federal health benefit program.

‑‑‑ END ‑‑‑

                               p. 3                       SB 5098