HB 0997 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to public records; exempting certain
3	health care records of the Department of Health which
4	relate to health care practitioners or pharmacists, law
5	enforcement officers, or the Department of Health;
6	providing guidelines for the use of such information and
7	penalties for violations; providing a finding of public
8	necessity; providing a contingent effective date.
9
10	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
11
12	Section 1. All information and records reported under s.
13	893.055, Florida Statutes, which would identify a patient are
14	confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1),
15	Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
16	Constitution.
17	Section 2. (1) The Department of Health may disclose a
18	patient's identity in the information or records reported under
19	s. 893.055, Florida Statutes, whose identity is otherwise
20	confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1),
21	Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
22	Constitution, to the following:
23	(a) A practitioner defined under chapter 893, Florida
24	Statutes, who requests information and certifies that the
25	information is necessary to provide medical treatment in
26	accordance with s. 893.05, Florida Statutes, to a current
27	patient, subject to the patient's written consent. The
28	practitioner may designate one person in his or her office to
29	access the information and records reported under s. 893.055,
30	Florida Statutes, on the practitioner's patients and provide
31	information to the practitioner as directed.
32	(b) A pharmacist licensed in this state who requests
33	information and certifies that the requested information is to
34	be used to dispense controlled substances in accordance with s.
35	893.04, Florida Statutes, to a current patient, subject to the
36	patient's written consent.
37	(c) A criminal justice agency defined under s. 119.011,
38	Florida Statutes, which enforces the laws of this state or the
39	United States relating to drugs and which is engaged in a
40	specific investigation involving a violation of law.
41	(d) An employee or agent of the Department of Health who
42	is involved in a specific investigation involving a violation of
43	the chapter regulating the alleged violator, the rules of the
44	Department of Health, or the rules of a board regulating the
45	alleged violator.
46	(e) The patient, for purposes of checking the information
47	for accuracy and reporting any inaccuracies to the department
48	for correction if verified.
49	(2)(a) A person who obtains information under this section
50	may not use the information to his or her own personal advantage
51	or reveal any information obtained in the enforcement of law
52	except in a prosecution or administrative hearing for a
53	violation of state or federal law or, if applicable, to provide
54	medical treatment in accordance with s. 893.05, Florida
55	Statutes, to a current patient or to dispense controlled
56	substances in accordance with s. 893.04, Florida Statutes, to a
57	current patient.
58	(b) Any person who knowingly violates this subsection
59	commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in
60	s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, Florida Statutes.
61	(3) A practitioner or pharmacist authorized under this
62	section to obtain information is not liable for accessing or
63	failing to access such information.
64	Section 3. A practitioner, pharmacist, or other agency
65	that obtains information reported under s. 893.055, Florida
66	Statutes, which would identify a patient must maintain the
67	confidentiality of such information pursuant to ss. 456.057 and
68	465.017, Florida Statutes, or as otherwise required by law.
69	Section 4. The Legislature finds that it is a public
70	necessity that all information reported to the Department of
71	Health under s. 893.055, Florida Statutes, which would identify
72	a patient be held confidential and exempt from disclosure
73	because doing so will facilitate the department's efforts to
74	maintain compliance with the state's drug laws by the accurate
75	and timely reporting by health care practitioners of potential
76	drug diversion without compromising a patient's privacy, with
77	certain exceptions. The exemption for a patient's identity in
78	the information or records reported under s. 893.055, Florida
79	Statutes, facilitates the sharing of information between health
80	care practitioners so that the practitioners may appropriately
81	identify and evaluate a patient's risk for drug diversion and
82	the resulting abuse of controlled substances without
83	compromising a patient's privacy. The Legislature further finds
84	that the exemption for records identifying a patient within
85	information or records reported to the Department of Health is a
86	public necessity to protect health-related information of a
87	sensitive and personal nature. Matters of personal health are
88	traditionally private and confidential concerns between a
89	patient and a health care provider. The private and confidential
90	nature of personal health matters pervades both the public and
91	private health care sectors. For these reasons, an individual's
92	expectation of a right to privacy in all matters regarding his
93	or her personal health necessitates this exemption.
94	Section 5. This act shall take effect on the effective
95	date of House Bill 989 or similar legislation establishing an
96	electronic system to monitor the prescribing of controlled
97	substances, if such bill or legislation is adopted in the same
98	legislative session or an extension thereof and becomes law.