HSB 526 (LSB 5306XD (8) 85)

SENATE/HOUSE FILE _____

BY  (PROPOSED DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH BILL)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the Iowa health information network.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 135.154, Code 2014, is amended by adding the following new subsections:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  3A.  “Care coordination” means the management of all aspects of a patient’s care to improve health care quality, patient outcomes, and patient safety.
   NEW SUBSECTION.  19A.  “Public health activities” means actions taken by a participant in its capacity as a public health authority under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or as required or permitted by other federal or state law.
   NEW SUBSECTION.  23.  “Record locator service” means the functionality of the Iowa health information network that queries data sources to locate and identify potential patient records.
    Sec. 2.  Section 135.156E, subsection 13, Code 2014, is amended to read as follows:
   13.  Unless otherwise provided in this division, when using sharing health information through the Iowa health information network or a private health information network maintained in this state that complies with the privacy and security requirements of this chapter for the purposes of patient treatment, a health care professional or a hospital payment or health care operations, as such terms are defined in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or for the purposes of public health activities or care coordination, a participant authorized by the department to use the record locator service is exempt from any other state law that is more restrictive than the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act that would otherwise prevent or hinder the exchange of patient information by the patient’s health care professional or hospital participant.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill amends a provision exempting health care professionals and hospitals from state laws more restrictive than the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) that would prevent or hinder the exchange of patient information by the health care professional or hospital when using the Iowa health information network (IHIN) or a private health information network that complies with the privacy and security requirements for the IHIN, for the purposes of patient treatment. The bill continues to limit the exemption to the sharing of health information through the IHIN or private network, but adds payment and health care operations (as defined in HIPAA) and public health activities and care coordination to the purposes allowed for such exemption, and substitutes participants authorized to use the record locator service under the IHIN for health care professionals and hospitals as the persons exempted. The terms “care coordination”, “public health activities”, and “record locator service” are defined in the bill.