STAND. COM. REP. NO.  233-14

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2014

 

RE:   H.B. No. 2532

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 2532 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH CARE PRIVACY,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to safeguard the privacy and integrity of health care information by:

 

(1)  Specifying an individual's rights to access, use, and ensure the accuracy of the individual's own health records;

 

(2)  Specifying conditions under which individual health care information can be used or disclosed by individuals, medical personnel, regulatory agencies, researchers, public health agencies, law enforcement agencies, and parties to judicial or administrative proceedings; and

 

(3)  Establishing civil and criminal penalties for violations.

 

     An individual testified in support of this measure.  The Office of Information Practices, Healthcare Association of Hawaii, Hawaii Health Information Corporation, and Kaiser Permanente opposed this measure.  The Hawaii Medical Service Association commented on this measure.

 

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

 

(1)  Limiting its scope to the use and disclosure of protected health care information in civil legal, administrative, or law enforcement proceedings or investigations;

 

(2)  Changing its effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion; and

 

(3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

 

     Should this measure proceed further in the legislative process, your Committee respectfully requests that the House Committee on Judiciary and the House Committee on Finance consider the impact and effects of the Hawaii Supreme Court's finding in Brende v. Hara, 113 Hawaii 424, 153 P.d 1109 (2007), that the right to privacy granted by the Hawaii State Constitution prohibits certain uses and disclosures of personal health care information in the context of civil legal proceedings.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2532, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2532, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

 

 

 

 

____________________________

DELLA AU BELATTI, Chair