Bill Text: NY S06936 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Grants access to patient or client records for the Board of Professional Medical Conduct for the purpose of investigation and prosecution of professional licensing and misconduct proceedings.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION [S06936 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S06936-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6936

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 16, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  STAVISKY  --  (at  request  of the State Education
          Department) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be
          committed to the Committee on Higher Education

        AN  ACT  to amend the education law, in relation to access to patient or
          client records in the investigation and  prosecution  of  professional
          licensing and misconduct proceedings

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Subdivision 8 of section 6506  of  the  education  law,  as
     2  amended  by  chapter  866  of  the  laws  of 1980, is amended to read as
     3  follows:
     4    (8) Designate a professional conduct officer, who shall be  the  chief
     5  administrative  officer  of the office of the professions, or his or her
     6  designee, in  connection  with  professional  licensing  and  misconduct
     7  proceedings  and criminal matters, such officer to be empowered to issue
     8  subpoenas and administer oaths  in  connection  with  such  proceedings.
     9  Notwithstanding  any provision of law to the contrary, such professional
    10  conduct officer, or his or her representatives, may examine  and  obtain
    11  unredacted  records  of  patients  or  clients  in the possession of any
    12  health care facility which  treated  the  patients  or  clients  or  the
    13  professional  office of a licensed professional who treated the patients
    14  or clients without the consent of the patients or clients in  connection
    15  with  any  investigation or proceeding conducted by the department under
    16  this title where such investigation or proceeding is in  response  to  a
    17  complaint alleging conduct constituting professional misconduct pursuant
    18  to  this  title. Such records shall be confidential during the course of
    19  such investigation and during the course of any proceeding or conference
    20  conducted by the department and shall not be further disclosed to anyone
    21  not authorized by the department to participate in  such  investigation,
    22  proceeding,  or  conference  unless express consent is obtained from the
    23  patient or client. The name of such  patient  or  client  shall  not  be

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03194-01-3
        S. 6936                             2

     1  disclosed  in  any  such investigation, conference, or proceeding unless
     2  the patient or client has expressly consented or  unless  authorized  by
     3  law.  Any other use or dissemination of information from such records by
     4  any person by any means, unless it is pursuant to a valid court order or
     5  otherwise authorized by law, shall be prohibited;
     6    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.