Senate Bill sb1942c1

    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 1942

    By the Committee on Health, Aging, and Long-Term Care; and
    Senator Peaden




    317-2037-03

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records; creating ss.

  3         458.353 and 459.028, F.S.; providing exemptions

  4         from public-records requirements for

  5         information contained in reports made by

  6         physicians of adverse incidents occurring in

  7         office practice settings; providing for future

  8         review and repeal; providing findings of public

  9         necessity; providing an effective date.

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

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13         Section 1.  Section 458.353, Florida Statutes, is

14  created to read:

15         458.353  Notification of adverse incident; public

16  records exemption.--The information contained in the

17  notification of an adverse incident, which is required under

18  s. 458.351 and provided to the department by a physician

19  licensed under this chapter, is confidential and exempt from

20  s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.

21  The information may not be made available to the public as

22  part of the record of investigation or prosecution in a

23  disciplinary proceeding. This section is subject to the Open

24  Government Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with s.

25  119.15 and shall stand repealed October 2, 2008, unless

26  reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the

27  Legislature.

28         Section 2.  Section 459.028, Florida Statutes, is

29  created to read:

30         459.028  Notification of adverse incident; public

31  records exemption.--The information contained in the

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






    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 1942
    317-2037-03




 1  notification of an adverse incident, which is required under

 2  s. 459.026 and provided to the department by a physician

 3  licensed under this chapter, is confidential and exempt from

 4  s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.

 5  The information may not be made available to the public as

 6  part of the record of investigation or prosecution in a

 7  disciplinary proceeding. This section is subject to the Open

 8  Government Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with s.

 9  119.15 and shall stand repealed October 2, 2008, unless

10  reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the

11  Legislature.

12         Section 3.  The Legislature finds that the exemptions

13  from public records requirements provided in sections 458.353

14  and 459.028, Florida Statutes, are a public necessity, and

15  that it would be an invasion of a patient's privacy for

16  personal, sensitive information contained in the notification

17  of an adverse incident to be publicly available. Furthermore,

18  the Legislature finds that failure to protect the

19  confidentiality of any information submitted to or collected

20  by the Department of Health pursuant to section 458.351 or

21  section 459.026, Florida Statutes, regarding an adverse

22  incident, including, but not limited to, the identity of the

23  patient, the type of adverse incident, and the fact that an

24  investigation is being conducted, would deter the collection

25  and reporting of this information to the department. This

26  would prevent the department and the appropriate regulatory

27  boards from effectively carrying out their responsibility to

28  enforce safe patient care and take necessary disciplinary

29  action for practice violations. Release of such information

30  would deter physicians licensed in this state from reporting

31  adverse incidents and could lead to the deterioration of

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    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 1942
    317-2037-03




 1  services and care rendered, to the detriment of the health of

 2  those served.

 3         Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

 4  law.

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 6          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
 7                         Senate Bill 1942

 8                                 

 9  A Public Records Law exemption is created in the bill to
    protect information contained in a notification of an adverse
10  incident resulting from physician office surgery involving an
    osteopathic physician, as is required in s. 459.026, F.S.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.