Legal Authority:
Section 25 of Chapter 16 of An Act Strengthening Health Care Protections in the Commonwealth
Statute
CHAPTER 16, SECTION 25
SECTION 25. (a) The commissioner of public health shall convene a technical advisory group to review section 70I of chapter 111 of the General Laws to advise on technical aspects of the implementation of said section 70I of said chapter 111, including regulations necessary for implementation. Not later than July 1, 2026, the technical advisory group shall make recommendations to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on the judiciary on measures necessary to mitigate restrictions on appropriate data sharing that limit interoperability to ensure access to necessary clinical information to maximize appropriate clinical care.
(b) The technical advisory group shall explore and make recommendations on: (i) the standardization of service definitions and terminology and structured standardized data; (ii) reducing the administrative burden and impacts on clinical care of patient consent forms, including through the use of consent management platforms; (iii) mitigating restrictions of appropriate data sharing and limitations on interoperability that impact patient care; (iv) the appropriateness of exempting information accessed, used and disclosed for treatment, payment and health care operation purposes; and (v) minimizing penalties for a business that makes a good faith effort to implement said section 70I of said chapter 111.
(c) The technical advisory group shall consist of the following members: the commissioner of public health or a designee, who shall serve as chair; a representative of the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, Inc.; a representative of the Massachusetts Medical Society; a representative of the Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals, Inc.; a representative of the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, Inc.; a representative of Fenway Health; a representative of the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, Inc.; a representative of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Inc.; a representative of the Massachusetts eHealth Institute; a representative of Health Care for All, Inc.; and 4 members to be appointed by the commissioner of public health, 1 of whom shall be a person with expertise in health information privacy, 1 of whom shall be a person with expertise in health information technology and 2 of whom shall be persons with lived experience accessing abortion-related health care services or gender-affirming health care services.