Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 2575 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to provide for the release of medical records of a deceased person to next of kin.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Hawaii Healthcare Association, the Queen's Medical Center, Hawaii Pacific Health, Castle Medical Center, the Hawaii State Teachers Association—Retired, and Kaiser Permanente.

Your Committee finds that a deceased person's medical records may be needed for life insurance or worker's compensation death benefits, as well as used as evidence in a lawsuit in a traffic accident. However, due to requirements of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a health care provider may only release the patient's medical records if that patient had a will. Absent a will, which many people do not have, the deceased's relatives will have to undergo legal proceedings that can be costly and time consuming.

Your Committee also finds that a patient may oppose the release of medical records to next of kin after death. Your Committee has amended this measure to require the health care provider to honor a patient's written opposition to the release of medical records to next of kin, except pursuant to a court order specifically compelling release.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2575, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2575, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.