S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8961
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 31, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. REYES -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Health
 
 AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation  to  the  release  of
   medical records in an electronic format
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 17 of the public health law, as amended by  chapter
 165  of the laws of 1991, the first undesignated paragraph as amended by
 chapter 322 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   § 17. Release of medical records. 1. Upon the written request  of  any
 competent patient, parent or guardian of an infant, a guardian appointed
 pursuant to article eighty-one of the mental hygiene law, or conservator
 of  a  conservatee,  an  examining,  consulting or treating physician or
 hospital must release and deliver, exclusive of personal  notes  of  the
 said  physician  or  hospital, copies of all x-rays, medical records and
 test records including all laboratory tests regarding  that  patient  to
 any  other designated physician or hospital provided, however, that such
 records concerning the treatment  of  an  infant  patient  for  venereal
 disease  or  the  performance  of an abortion operation upon such infant
 patient shall not be released or in any manner be made available to  the
 parent  or guardian of such infant, and provided, further, that original
 mammograms, rather than copies thereof, shall be released and delivered.
 Either the physician or hospital  incurring  the  expense  of  providing
 copies of x-rays, medical records and test records including all labora-
 tory  tests  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of this section may impose a
 reasonable charge to be paid by the person requesting  the  release  and
 deliverance   of  such  records  as  reimbursement  for  such  expenses,
 provided, however, that the physician  or  hospital  may  not  impose  a
 charge  for  copying  an  original  mammogram when the original has been
 released or delivered to any competent patient, parent or guardian of an
 infant, a guardian appointed  pursuant  to  article  eighty-one  of  the
 mental  hygiene  law,  or  a  conservator of a conservatee and provided,
 further, that any charge for delivering an original  mammogram  pursuant
 to  this section shall not exceed the documented costs associated there-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD13171-01-3
 A. 8961                             2
 
 with. However, the reasonable charge for paper copies shall  not  exceed
 seventy-five  cents  per  page.  A release of records under this section
 shall not be denied solely because of inability to pay. No charge may be
 imposed  under  this  section  for  providing,  releasing, or delivering
 medical records or copies of medical records  where  requested  for  the
 purpose of supporting an application, claim or appeal for any government
 benefit  or  program,  provided that, where a provider maintains medical
 records in electronic form, it shall provide the copy  in  either  elec-
 tronic  or paper form, as required by the government benefit or program,
 or at the patient's request.
   2. ALL MEDICAL RECORDS REQUIRED TO BE RELEASED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION
 ONE OF THIS  SECTION  SHALL  BE  MADE  AVAILABLE  TO  PATIENTS,  AT  THE
 PATIENT'S REQUEST, IN AN ELECTRONIC FORMAT THROUGH A WEB PORTAL AND SUCH
 RECORDS SHALL BE IN A FORMAT THAT ALLOWS PATIENTS TO SAVE THE RECORDS TO
 THEIR OWN DEVICE.
   3.  For the purposes of this section the term "laboratory tests" shall
 include but not be limited to tests  and  examinations  administered  in
 clinical  laboratories  or  blood  banks  as  those terms are defined in
 section five hundred seventy-one of this chapter.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it shall have become a law.