House Bill 3311c1

    Florida House of Representatives - 1998             CS/HB 3311

        By the Committee on Health Care Standards & Regulatory
    Reform and Representative Saunders





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records; providing an

  3         exemption from public records requirements for

  4         information contained in a notification of an

  5         adverse incident provided to the Agency for

  6         Health Care Administration by a facility

  7         licensed under ch. 395, F.S.; providing that

  8         such information is not discoverable or

  9         admissible in a civil action or administrative

10         proceeding unless such action or proceeding is

11         a disciplinary proceeding conducted by the

12         agency or a regulatory board; providing for

13         future review and repeal; providing a finding

14         of public necessity; providing a contingent

15         effective date.

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17  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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19         Section 1.  The information contained in the

20  notification of an adverse incident, which is required under

21  section 395.0197, Florida Statutes, and provided to the Agency

22  for Health Care Administration by a facility licensed under

23  chapter 395, Florida Statutes, is confidential and exempt from

24  section 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and Section 24(a),

25  Article I of the State Constitution. In addition, the

26  information is not discoverable or admissible in a civil or

27  administrative action, unless the action is a disciplinary

28  proceeding by the Agency for Health Care Administration or the

29  appropriate regulatory board. The information may not be made

30  available to the public as part of the record of investigation

31  or prosecution in a disciplinary proceeding which is made

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998             CS/HB 3311

    601-127-98






  1  available by the Agency for Health Care Administration or a

  2  regulatory board. This exemption is subject to the Open

  3  Government Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with

  4  section 119.15, Florida Statutes, and shall stand repealed on

  5  October 2, 2003, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through

  6  reenactment by the Legislature.

  7         Section 2.  The Legislature finds that the exemption

  8  from the public records law provided in section 1 of this act

  9  is a public necessity, and that it would be an invasion of a

10  patient's privacy for information contained in the

11  notification of an adverse incident to be publicly available.

12  Furthermore, the Legislature finds that such information is of

13  a sensitive nature and must be kept confidential so that the

14  Agency for Health Care Administration can effectively carry

15  out its responsibilities.

16         Section 3.  This act shall take effect on the date

17  Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 314 or Committee

18  Substitute for Committee Substitute for House Bill 349,

19  relating to the regulation of health care facilities, or

20  similar legislation becomes a law, and shall not take effect

21  if such legislation does not become a law.

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