By: Goolsby H.B. No. 97
73R963 JRD-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the right of a patient or the patient's representative
1-3 to a copy of the patient's medical records and to the charge for
1-4 providing the copy.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Section 5.08(k), Medical Practice Act (Article
1-7 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as
1-8 follows:
1-9 (k) A physician shall furnish copies of medical records
1-10 requested<, or a summary or narrative of the records,> pursuant to
1-11 a written consent for release of the records <information> as
1-12 provided by Subsection (j) of this section, except that <if the
1-13 physician determines that access to the information would be
1-14 harmful to the physical, mental, or emotional health of the
1-15 patient, and> the physician may delete confidential information
1-16 about another person who has not consented to the release. The
1-17 records <information> shall be furnished by the physician within a
1-18 reasonable period of time after receipt of the written consent and
1-19 after payment of reasonable and customary fees for <furnishing> the
1-20 records <information shall be paid> by the patient or someone on
1-21 the patient's <his> behalf. The reproduction charge for furnishing
1-22 a copy of a standard or legal size document may not exceed the cost
1-23 figure published by the General Services Commission under Section
1-24 9(a) of the Open Records Law for reproduction of a standard or
2-1 legal size public record. In this subsection, "medical records"
2-2 means any records pertaining to the history, diagnosis, treatment,
2-3 or prognosis of the patient.
2-4 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the
2-5 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-6 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-7 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-8 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.