Bill Text: NY S05367 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires a health care provider or facility which has determined to cease to do business or which is transferring its ownership, at least thirty days prior to such action to provide a copy of its plan for transfer of patient records to another provider, facility or practitioner.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-10-29 - SIGNED CHAP.426 [S05367 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S05367-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5367 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE April 29, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to the transfer of patient medical records upon the closure of a health care provider's office The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 18 of the public health law, as 2 added by chapter 497 of the laws of 1986, is amended by adding a new 3 paragraph (j) to read as follows: 4 (j) "Cease to do business in this state" shall mean any case where a 5 health care provider who has engaged in an on-going practice or business 6 within this state as a health care provider, ceases to engage in such 7 business, provided however, that this term shall not include a health 8 care practitioner whose practice is merged, consolidated, combined, or 9 acquired by another health care provider and he or she continues to 10 provide services including medical care, diagnosis or treatment to 11 patients as an employee, contractor, or owner of the merged, consol- 12 idated, combined, or acquired health care provider. 13 § 2. Section 18 of the public health law, as added by chapter 497 of 14 the laws of 1986, is amended by adding a new subdivision 13 to read as 15 follows: 16 13. (a) A health care provider which has in its possession patient 17 information and/or patient medical records and which has determined to 18 permanently cease to do business or practice in this state shall, at 19 least thirty days prior to such action, make a good faith effort to 20 notify each of the health care provider's current patients that the 21 office will be closing and to inform each such patient of his or her 22 right to request that his or her patient information and/or patient 23 medical records be sent to a health care provider, health care facility EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06968-01-9S. 5367 2 1 or health care practitioner of the patient's choosing or, alternatively, 2 that such information and records be returned to the patient. 3 (b) The provisions of this subdivision shall not affect any rights 4 afforded pursuant to section seventeen of this title. 5 (c) Nothing in this subdivision shall affect the period of time that a 6 health care provider is lawfully required to retain a patient's medical 7 information and medical records. 8 (d) The provisions of this subdivision shall only apply with respect 9 to a patient whose chart includes written permission to receive the 10 notification described in paragraph (a) of this subdivision. 11 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.