HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                      Olympia, Washington

Bill Analysis      Bill No.  HB 1603

Regulating disclosure of medical and health research records.

Brief Title                              Hearing Date: 2/26/99

Reps. Murray, Parlette                   Staff:  Scott MacColl

Sponsor(s)                          State Government Committee

                                              Phone:  786-7106

BACKGROUND:

The Open Public Records Act (RCW 42.17), commonly known as the public disclosure law, makes all public documents subject to release by request.  Numerous exemptions to the public disclosure requirement are codified in statute.  State and local governments are required to make records not specifically included within a statutory exemption available for public inspection and copying.

However, the Uniform Health Care Information Act states that a health care provider may not disclose health care information about a patient to any other person without the patient=s written authorization.  Health care providers must also chart all disclosures of health care information.  There are specific exemptions to this requirement which allow the release of health care information without written authorization.

SUMMARY:

An exception is made to the Uniform Health Care Information Act, which requires that vital statistics must be made available for inspection, copying, and use by a health research organization in connection with a medical or health research project if a determination is made by an institutional review board.

The determination by the institutional review board must meet the following requirements: the project is of sufficient importance to outweigh the invasion of privacy; is impracticable without full disclosure of the vital statistics of individual identity; the information is safeguarded from redisclosure, and a persons vital statistics are protected against identification in the report of the research project; and the project contains procedures to destroy identifiable records at the earliest opportunity.

Vital statistics are records held by governments that include the name, address, gender, voter registration number, and pertinent dates of birth, death, marriage, divorce, and annulment.

FISCAL NOTE:  Not requested.

EFFECTIVE DATE:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.