PETITION OF:

SECTION I. Purpose. The legislature recognizes the need for medical professionals and

health care facilities to have ready access to health care information maintained by health

insurers and health plans in order to improve the quality of healthcare and reduce medical

errors in the Commonwealth, and especially to facilitate emergency and urgent treatment. The

legislature, therefore, seeks to increase the availability of health information at the point of

urgent and emergent care, while maintaining each person's right of medical privacy by

permitting health insurers and health plans to release medical information, including especially

protected medical information that otherwise would be unavailable in the absence of this

legislation, to medical professionals and health care facilities for the purpose of facilitating

emergent or urgent treatment in reliance upon the providers’ representation that consent

requirements have been satisfied.

SECTION 2. Subsection (c) of section 2 of Chapter 66A of the General Laws, is hereby

amended by inserting the following at the end thereof:

A holder may release medical information about an individual to a medical professional

or health care facility for the purpose of facilitating the emergency or urgent treatment

of the individual by such medical professional or health care facility, provided that the

medical professional or health care facility has obtained the individual’s consent to such

release and documented such consent in the medical record or otherwise, or if the

individual’s medical condition prevents obtaining such consent, the medical professional

or health care facility documents such medical condition in the medical record or

otherwise. Such disclosure may include any health information reasonably deemed

necessary by the medical professional or health care facility to facilitate emergency or

urgent treatment under the circumstances, including, without limitation, mental health

or HIV-AIDS related information, provided that the conditions of this subsection are

met. A holder releasing such information may rely upon a representation from a

medical professional or health care facility that the conditions for release set forth

herein have been satisfied, or that such conditions will be satisfied before a request for

information is made. Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to bar a holder from

making a disclosure that otherwise would be permitted by law or to require a holder to

obtain consent that would not otherwise be required by law.

SECTION 3. Section 108E of Chapter 175 of the General Laws, is hereby amended by

inserting the following new subsection at the end thereof:

(g) nothing contained herein shall prohibit a company from disclosing patient information to a

medical professional or health care facility under the circumstances described in Chapter 175I

§ 13(4)(iv).

SECTION 4. Section 13 of Chapter 175I of the General Laws, as so appearing in the 2000

Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting the following new subsection in line 61 after

subsection (4)(iii):

(iv) facilitating emergency or urgent treatment of the individual by such medical

professional or medical-care institution, provided that the medical professional or

medical-care institution has obtained the individual’s consent to such release and

documented such consent in the medical record or otherwise, or if the individual’s

medical condition prevents obtaining such consent, the medical professional or medicalcare

institution documents such medical condition in the medical record or otherwise.

Such disclosure may include any health information reasonably deemed necessary by

the provider to facilitate treatment under such circumstances, including, without

limitation, mental health or HIV-AIDS related information, provided that the conditions

of this subsection are met. An insurance institution, insurance representative or

insurance support organization releasing such information may rely upon a

representation from a medical professional or medical-care institution that the

conditions for release set forth herein have been satisfied, or that such conditions will

be satisfied before a request for information is made. Nothing in this subsection shall

be deemed to bar an insurance institution, insurance representative or insurance support

organization from making a disclosure that otherwise would be permitted by law or to

require an insurance institution, insurance representative or insurance support

organization to require consent that would not otherwise be required by law.

SECTION 5. Section 14B of Chapter 176A of the General Laws, is hereby amended by

inserting the following new subsection at the end thereof:

(g) Nothing contained herein shall prohibit a nonprofit hospital service corporation from

disclosing patient information to a medical professional or health care facility under the

circumstances described in Chapter 175I § 13(4)(iv).

SECTION 6. Section 20 of Chapter 176B of the General Laws, is hereby amended by

inserting the following new subsection at the end thereof:

(g) nothing contained herein shall prohibit a medical service corporation from disclosing

patient information to a medical professional or health care facility under the circumstances

described in Chapter 175I § 13(4)(iv).

SECTION 7. Section 4B of Chapter 176G of the General Laws, is hereby amended by

inserting the following new subsection at the end thereof:

(g) nothing contained herein shall prohibit a health maintenance organization from disclosing

patient information to a medical professional or health care facility under the circumstances

described in Chapter 175I § 13(4)(iv).

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