STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1305

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2025

RE: S.B. No. 1421

S.D. 1

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 1421, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MEDICAL RECORDS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to repeal the requirement that the Department of Health approve a health care provider's arrangements for the retention and preservation of patients' medical records prior to the provider ceasing operations and instead require retention and preservation to be consistent with federal and state regulations.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from The Queen's Health Systems. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Health.

Your Committee finds that pursuant to certain federal and state regulations, as well as any applicable internal policies and procedures, health care providers and health care systems must retain and preserve medical records for a certain number of years. Your Committee further finds that, in light of these regulations, requiring a health care provider to obtain approval from the Department of Health for the provider's arrangement for the retention and preservation of patient medical records when ceasing operations is redundant. Your Committee believes that removing this requirement will provide greater flexibility and efficiency when a health care provider intends to close their practice.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Requiring health care providers to notify patients, at the patient's last known address, of how patients can access or request copies of their medical records, rather than returning medical records to patients at their last known address;

(2) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

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. 1421, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1421, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

____________________________

GREGG TAKAYAMA, Chair