House Bill 3311c2

    Florida House of Representatives - 1998          CS/CS/HB 3311

        By the Committees on Governmental Operations, 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  s. 395.0197(7), 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  s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Art. I of the

25  State Constitution. In addition, the information is not

26  discoverable or admissible in a civil or administrative

27  action, unless the action is a disciplinary proceeding by the

28  Agency for Health Care Administration or the appropriate

29  regulatory board. The information may not be made available to

30  the public as part of the record of investigation or

31  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/CS/HB 3311

    192-971-98






  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 s.

  4  119.15, Florida Statutes, and shall stand repealed on October

  5  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 public disclosure provided for in section 1 of this act

  9  is a public necessity because it would be an invasion of a

10  patient's privacy for such personal, sensitive information

11  contained in the notification of an adverse incident to be

12  publicly available. Furthermore, the Legislature finds that

13  failure to protect the confidentiality of any information

14  submitted to or collected by the Agency for Health Care

15  Administration pursuant to s. 395.0197(7), Florida Statutes,

16  regarding an adverse incident, including, but not limited to,

17  the identity of the patient, the type of adverse incident,

18  potential risk to other patients, and the fact that an

19  investigation is being conducted, would deter the collection

20  and reporting of this information to the agency. This would

21  prevent the agency from effectively carrying out its

22  responsibility to enforce corrective measures by a facility

23  regarding the occurrence of an adverse incident. Release of

24  such information would deter licensed facilities from

25  internally reporting and correcting situations resulting in

26  adverse incidents. This could lead to the deterioration of

27  services rendered, all to the detriment of the health of those

28  served. This exemption simply extends existing exemptions

29  already in s. 395.0197, Florida Statutes, regarding the same

30  information to the new, earlier reporting requirement. The

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






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998          CS/CS/HB 3311

    192-971-98






  1  Legislature has thus consistently and repeatedly acknowledged

  2  the public necessity of these types of exemptions.

  3         Section 3.  This act shall take effect on the effective

  4  date of the amendment to s. 395.0197, Florida Statutes,

  5  contained in Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 314 or

  6  Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Committee

  7  Substitute for House Bill 349, relating to the regulation of

  8  health care facilities, or similar legislation, if such

  9  legislation is adopted in the same legislative session or an

10  extension thereof.

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