The Florida Senate

Unless expressly prohibited by a legally competent resident, any nursing home licensed pursuant to this part shall furnish to the spouse, guardian, surrogate, proxy, or attorney in fact, as provided in chapters 744 and 765, of a current resident, within 7 working days after receipt of a written request, or of a former resident, within 10 working days after receipt of a written request, a copy of that resident’s records which are in the possession of the facility. Such records shall include medical and psychiatric records and any records concerning the care and treatment of the resident performed by the facility, except progress notes and consultation report sections of a psychiatric nature. Copies of such records shall not be considered part of a deceased resident’s estate and may be made available prior to the administration of an estate, upon request, to the spouse, guardian, surrogate, proxy, or attorney in fact, as provided in chapters 744 and 765. A facility may charge a reasonable fee for the copying of resident records. Such fee shall not exceed $1 per page for the first 25 pages and 25 cents per page for each page in excess of 25 pages. The facility shall further allow any such spouse, guardian, surrogate, proxy, or attorney in fact, as provided in chapters 744 and 765, to examine the original records in its possession, or microfilms or other suitable reproductions of the records, upon such reasonable terms as shall be imposed, to help assure that the records are not damaged, destroyed, or altered.

No person shall be allowed to obtain copies of residents’ records pursuant to this section more often than once per month, except that physician’s reports in the residents’ records may be obtained as often as necessary to effectively monitor the residents’ condition.