Florida Senate - 2016                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 662
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì234508-Î234508                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  02/01/2016           .                                
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       The Committee on Health Policy (Gaetz) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 408.0641, Florida Statutes, is created
    6  to read:
    7         408.0641 Clearinghouse for compassionate and palliative
    8  care plans; public records exemption.—
    9         (1) Information held in the clearinghouse for compassionate
   10  and palliative care plans at the Agency for Health Care
   11  Administration or its designee under s. 408.064 is confidential
   12  and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
   13  Constitution.
   14         (2) The agency or its designee may disclose such
   15  confidential and exempt information to the following persons or
   16  entities upon request after using a verification process to
   17  ensure the legitimacy of the request and the requestor’s
   18  identity:
   19         (a) A physician who certifies that the information is
   20  necessary to provide medical treatment to a patient with a
   21  terminal illness who has a plan in the clearinghouse.
   22         (b) A patient or the legal guardian or designated health
   23  care surrogate of a patient with a terminal illness who has a
   24  plan in the clearinghouse.
   25         (c) A health care facility that certifies that the
   26  information is necessary to provide medical treatment to a
   27  patient with a terminal illness who has a plan in the
   28  clearinghouse.
   29         (3) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset
   30  Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed
   31  on October 2, 2021, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
   32  through reenactment by the Legislature.
   33         Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
   34  necessity to make confidential and exempt from disclosure
   35  information held in the clearinghouse for compassionate and
   36  palliative care plans which would identify a patient, his or her
   37  terminal illness, or the patient’s family members. Such personal
   38  identifying information, if publicly available, could be used to
   39  invade the personal privacy of the patient or his or her family.
   40  The decisions made under a compassionate and palliative care
   41  plan for a terminal condition are a private matter. Furthermore,
   42  the public disclosure of such information could hinder the
   43  effective and efficient administration of the clearinghouse for
   44  compassionate and palliative care plans. Public access to such
   45  information could reduce participation and minimize the
   46  effectiveness of compassionate and palliative care plans to meet
   47  the needs of individuals. Finally, access to such information
   48  could be used to solicit, harass, stalk, or intimidate
   49  clearinghouse participants or terminally ill patients or their
   50  families. Therefore, the Legislature finds that information held
   51  in the clearinghouse for compassionate and palliative care plans
   52  which would identify a patient participating in the
   53  clearinghouse or which contains or reflects the patient’s
   54  medical information should be confidential and exempt from
   55  public records requirements.
   56         Section 3. This act shall take effect on the same date that
   57  SB 664 or similar legislation takes effect if such legislation
   58  is adopted in the same legislative session or an extension
   59  thereof and becomes a law.
   60  
   61  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   62  And the title is amended as follows:
   63         Delete everything before the enacting clause
   64  and insert:
   65                        A bill to be entitled                      
   66         An act relating to public records; creating s.
   67         408.0641, F.S.; creating an exemption from public
   68         records for identifying information in compassionate
   69         and palliative care plans filed with the clearinghouse
   70         for compassionate and palliative care plans at the
   71         Agency for Health Care Administration or its designee;
   72         authorizing the disclosure of certain information to
   73         certain entities and individuals; providing for future
   74         legislative review and repeal of the exemption under
   75         the Open Government Sunset Review Act; providing a
   76         statement of public necessity; providing a contingent
   77         effective date.