STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
727
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 6, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. D. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law and the education law, in relation
to requiring the transfer of medical records within sixty days of
written request
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The first undesignated paragraph of section 17 of the
2 public health law, as amended by chapter 322 of the laws of 2017, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 Upon the written request of any competent patient, parent or guardian
5 of an infant, a guardian appointed pursuant to article eighty-one of the
6 mental hygiene law, or conservator of a conservatee, an examining,
7 consulting or treating physician or hospital must, within sixty calendar
8 days, release and deliver, exclusive of personal notes of the said
9 physician or hospital, copies of all x-rays, medical records and test
10 records including all laboratory tests regarding that patient to any
11 other designated physician or hospital provided, however, that such
12 records concerning the treatment of an infant patient for venereal
13 disease or the performance of an abortion operation upon such infant
14 patient shall not be released or in any manner be made available to the
15 parent or guardian of such infant, and provided, further, that original
16 mammograms, rather than copies thereof, shall be released and delivered.
17 Either the physician or hospital incurring the expense of providing
18 copies of x-rays, medical records and test records including all labora-
19 tory tests pursuant to the provisions of this section may impose a
20 reasonable charge to be paid by the person requesting the release and
21 deliverance of such records as reimbursement for such expenses,
22 provided, however, that the physician or hospital may not impose a
23 charge for copying an original mammogram when the original has been
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05131-01-1
A. 727 2
1 released or delivered to any competent patient, parent or guardian of an
2 infant, a guardian appointed pursuant to article eighty-one of the
3 mental hygiene law, or a conservator of a conservatee and provided,
4 further, that any charge for delivering an original mammogram pursuant
5 to this section shall not exceed the documented costs associated there-
6 with. However, the reasonable charge for paper copies shall not exceed
7 seventy-five cents per page. A release of records under this section
8 shall not be denied solely because of inability to pay. No charge may be
9 imposed under this section for providing, releasing, or delivering
10 medical records or copies of medical records where requested for the
11 purpose of supporting an application, claim or appeal for any government
12 benefit or program, provided that, where a provider maintains medical
13 records in electronic form, it shall provide the copy in either elec-
14 tronic or paper form, as required by the government benefit or program,
15 or at the patient's request.
16 § 2. Section 6530 of the education law is amended by adding a new
17 subdivision 51 to read as follows:
18 51. Failing to release and deliver copies of x-rays, medical records
19 and test records within sixty calendar days of written request pursuant
20 to section seventeen of the public health law.
21 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
