Allows a patient's "next of kin" access to the patient's records. Transfers the Executive Office on Aging from the Governor's Office to the Department of Health. (HB512 CD1)

A BILL FOR AN ACT

PART I

SECTION 1. Section 349-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) There is established within the [office of the governor,] department of health, for administrative purposes only, an executive office on aging."

SECTION 2. All rights, powers, functions, and duties of the office of the governor, relating to the executive office on aging, are transferred to the department of health. All officers and employees whose functions are transferred by this Act shall be transferred with their functions and shall continue to perform their regular duties upon their transfer, subject to the state personnel laws and this Act.

Any employee who, prior to this Act, was exempt from civil service and may be transferred as a consequence of this Act, shall continue to retain the employee's exempt status and shall not be appointed to a civil service position because of this Act. The employee shall continue in an exempt position upon transfer to the department of health until such time that the exempt position is converted to a civil service position in accordance with applicable state personnel rules, regulations, policies, or procedures.

All officers or employees whose positions are transferred by this Act shall be transferred to the department of health. The functions, duties, classifications, pay, benefits, tenure, seniority, prior service credit, vacation, sick leave, or other employee benefit or privilege of any officer or employee shall not be changed in the execution of the transfer. Subsequent changes in status shall be made in accordance with applicable state personnel laws, rules, policies, procedures, and collective bargaining agreements.

If an office or position held by an officer or employee is abolished as a result of this Act, the employment action affecting the officer or employee shall be in accordance with applicable state personnel laws, rules, policies, procedures, and collective bargaining agreements.

SECTION 3. All rules, policies, procedures, guidelines, and other material adopted or developed by the office of the governor to implement provisions of the Hawaii Revised Statutes which are reenacted or made applicable to the department of health by this Act, shall remain in full force and effect until amended or repealed by the department of health pursuant to chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes. In the interim, every reference to the office of the governor in those rules, policies, procedures, guidelines, and other material is amended to refer to the department of health.

SECTION 4. All deeds, leases, contracts, loans, agreements, permits, or other documents executed or entered into by or on behalf of the office of the governor pursuant to the provisions of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, which are reenacted or made applicable to the department of health by this Act, shall remain in full force and effect. Upon the effective date of this Act, every reference to the office of the governor, relating to the executive office on aging, shall be construed as a reference to the department of health.

SECTION 5. All appropriations, records, equipment, machines, files, supplies, contracts, books, papers, documents, maps, computer software and data, authorizations, and other property, both real and personal, heretofore made, used, acquired, or held by the office of the governor in the exercise of the functions and programs transferred by this Act shall be transferred to the department of health when the functions or programs are so transferred.

SECTION 6. If any part of this Act is found to be in conflict with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition for the allocation of federal funds to the State, the conflicting part of this Act is inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict and with respect to the agencies directly affected, and this finding does not affect the operation of the remainder of this Act in its application to the agencies concerned. The rules adopted under this Act shall meet federal requirements that are a necessary condition to the receipt of federal funds by the State.

PART II

SECTION 7. Section 622-57, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§622-57 Availability of medical records. (a) If a patient of a health care provider as defined in section 671-1, requests copies of [his or her] the patient's medical records, the copies shall be made available to the patient unless in the opinion of the health care provider it would be detrimental to the health of the patient to obtain the records. If the health care provider is of the opinion that release of the records to the patient would be detrimental to the health of the patient, the health care provider shall advise the patient that copies of the records will be made available to the patient's attorney upon presentation of a proper authorization signed by the patient.

(b) If an attorney for a patient asks a health care provider for copies of the patient's medical records and presents a proper authorization from the patient for the release of the information, complete and accurate copies of the records shall be given to the attorney within a reasonable time not to exceed ten working days.

(c) If a patient's next of kin asks a health care provider for copies of the patient's medical records, complete and accurate copies of the records shall be given to the patient's next of kin requesting the records within a reasonable time not to exceed ten working days; provided that the patient or the patient's authorized representative is unable to authorize release of the records to the patient's next of kin; provided further that the patient's next of kin possesses superseding authority to request and receive the records.

A health care provider may refuse to release the patient's medical records to the patient's next of kin if the health care provider determines that it would not be in the best interest of the patient to do so.

For purposes of this subsection:

"Patient's next of kin" means:

A patient's next of kin possesses "superseding authority" when all higher ranked kin are unable to request copies of the patient's medical records.

(d) Reasonable costs incurred by a health care provider in making copies of medical records shall be borne by the requesting person."

PART III

SECTION 8. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 9. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.