The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that maintaining the confidentiality of medical records is of the utmost importance to the state and of critical importance to patient privacy for high quality medical care. Most people in the United States consider confidentiality of health information important and worry that the increased computerization of health records may result in inappropriate disclosure of such records. Patients have a strong interest in preserving the privacy of their personal health information, but they also have an interest in medical research and other efforts by health care organizations to improve the medical care they receive. How best to preserve confidentiality within a state health information infrastructure is an important discussion that is affected by recent regulations promulgated by the federal department of health and human services related to the electronic storage of health information. The purpose of this part 12 is to index the provisions that govern medical record confidentiality to facilitate locating the law concerning the confidentiality of medical records and health information. It is not intended to expand, narrow, or clarify existing provisions.
Source: L. 2001: Entire part added, p. 828, § 5, effective August 8.