House Bill hb1881
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2001 HB 1881
By the Committee on Elder & Long-Term Care and
Representative Green
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public records and meetings;
3 providing an exemption from the public records
4 law for certain records relating to internal
5 risk management programs in nursing homes and
6 assisted living facilities; providing for
7 release of such information under certain
8 circumstances; providing an exemption from the
9 public meetings law for meetings of internal
10 risk management and quality assurance
11 committees in nursing homes and assisted living
12 facilities; providing for future legislative
13 review and repeal; providing a statement of
14 public necessity; creating s. 430.105, F.S.;
15 providing for confidentiality and exemption
16 from the public records law for information
17 relating to clients of the Department of
18 Elderly Affairs, clients of service providers
19 contracting with the Department of Elderly
20 Affairs, and certain elders receiving services
21 through programs administered by or funded by
22 the Department of Elderly Affairs; requiring
23 consent for disclosure; providing for future
24 legislative review and repeal; providing a
25 statement of public necessity; providing a
26 contingent effective date.
27
28 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
29
30 Section 1. Confidentiality of records and meetings of
31 risk management and quality assurance committees.--
1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2001 HB 1881
173-980A-01
1 (1) Records of meetings of the risk management and
2 quality assurance committee of a long-term care facility
3 licensed under part II or part III of chapter 400, Florida
4 Statutes, as well as incident reports filed with the
5 facility's risk manager and administrator, notifications of
6 the occurrence of an adverse incident, and adverse incident
7 reports from the facility are confidential and exempt from s.
8 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
9 Constitution. However, if the Agency for Health Care
10 Administration has a reasonable belief that conduct by a staff
11 member or employee of a facility is criminal activity or
12 grounds for disciplinary action by a regulatory board, the
13 agency may disclose such records to the appropriate law
14 enforcement agency or regulatory board.
15 (2) Records that are confidential and exempt under
16 subsection (1) and that are obtained by a regulatory board are
17 not available to the public as part of the record of
18 investigation and prosecution in a disciplinary proceeding
19 made available to the public by the agency or the appropriate
20 regulatory board. However, the agency or the appropriate
21 regulatory board shall make available, upon request by a
22 health care professional against whom probable cause has been
23 found, any such records that form the basis of the
24 determination of probable cause.
25 (3) Records disclosed to a law enforcement agency
26 pursuant to subsection (1) remain confidential and exempt
27 until criminal charges are filed.
28 (4) The meetings of an internal risk management and
29 quality assurance committee of a long-term care facility
30 licensed under part II or part III of chapter 400, Florida
31 Statutes, are exempt from s. 286.011, Florida Statutes, and s.
2
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2001 HB 1881
173-980A-01
1 24(b), Art. I of the State Constitution and are not open to
2 the public.
3 (5) This section is subject to the Open Government
4 Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with s. 119.15,
5 Florida Statutes, and shall stand repealed on October 1, 2006,
6 unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by
7 the Legislature.
8 Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
9 necessity that information pertaining to the operation of
10 internal risk management and quality assurance programs in
11 long-term care facilities licensed under part II or part III
12 of chapter 400, Florida Statutes, be confidential and exempt
13 from public records requirements, and that meetings of quality
14 assurance committees be closed to the public. The Legislature
15 finds that it is in the interest of public health and safety
16 to require long-term care facilities to operate internal risk
17 management programs and for the Agency for Health Care
18 Administration to review the operation of these programs. The
19 Legislature finds that these programs are effective in
20 reducing risk to residents and improving quality when facility
21 staff have frank and open internal communication regarding
22 potential resident risks and quality assurance problems and
23 that public access to these discussions or agency records of
24 these discussions will inhibit this frank and open internal
25 communication.
26 Section 3. Section 430.105, Florida Statutes, is
27 created to read:
28 430.105 Confidentiality of information.--
29 (1) Information, including personally identifying
30 information contained in records relating to an individual's
31 health or eligibility for or receipt of health-related, elder
3
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2001 HB 1881
173-980A-01
1 care, or long-term care services, about clients of the
2 department, clients of service providers that contract with
3 the department, or functionally impaired elderly persons who
4 receive services under any program administered or funded by
5 the department is confidential and exempt from the provisions
6 of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
7 Constitution, except as otherwise provided by law. Such
8 information may be contained in records created by or received
9 by the department or its service providers or obtained through
10 files, reports, inspections, or otherwise by employees of the
11 department, persons who volunteer through programs
12 administered by the department or its contract providers, or
13 by contract providers. Information made confidential and
14 exempt from the public records law under this section may not
15 be disclosed publicly unless the affected client or elder
16 person or his or her legal representative provides written
17 consent.
18 (2) This section is subject to the Open Government
19 Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with s. 119.15, and
20 shall stand repealed on October 1, 2006, unless reviewed and
21 saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
22 Section 4. The Legislature finds that it is a public
23 necessity that identifying information and information of a
24 personal and sensitive nature that is contained in the records
25 of elderly persons collected and held by the Department of
26 Elderly Affairs, by volunteers, by persons under contract with
27 area agencies on aging, or any provider contracting with the
28 department to provide services to clients of the department be
29 held confidential and exempt from public disclosure. Similar
30 information held by the Department of Children and Family
31 Services is confidential. If such information were not held
4
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2001 HB 1881
173-980A-01
1 confidential and exempt, elderly persons could fall prey to
2 those seeking to capitalize on their weaknesses. Also, if
3 their addresses were available, and their disabilities known,
4 criminals could more readily attack these elderly citizens.
5 Accordingly, it is necessary in order to protect the health,
6 safety, and welfare of our elderly citizens, that identifying
7 information regarding them be kept confidential and protected
8 from general public disclosure, in accordance with the public
9 records law and the State Constitution.
10 Section 4. This act shall take effect on the same date
11 that House Bill ____ or similar legislation creating internal
12 risk management and quality assurance programs in long-term
13 care facilities licensed under part II or part III of chapter
14 400, Florida Statutes, takes effect, if such legislation is
15 adopted in the same legislative session or an extension
16 thereof.
17
18 *****************************************
19 LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY
20 Provides an exemption from the public records and public
meetings law for records and meetings of internal risk
21 management programs in nursing homes and assisted living
facilities. Provides for certain information to be
22 released to a health care professional against whom
probable cause has been found. Provides that records
23 disclosed to a law enforcement agency remain confidential
until criminal charges are filed. Provides for
24 confidentiality and exemption from the public records law
for information relating to clients of the Department of
25 Elderly Affairs, clients of service providers contracting
with the Department of Elderly Affairs, and certain
26 elders receiving services through programs administered
by or funded by the Department of Elderly Affairs.
27 Requires consent for disclosure. Provides for future
review and repeal.
28
29
30
31
5
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.