Costs of Reproducing Medical Records

 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

Board of Medicine

RULE NO.:RULE TITLE:

64B8-10.003Costs of Reproducing Medical Records

NOTICE OF CHANGE

Notice is hereby give that the following changes have been made to the proposed rule in accordance with subparagraph 120.54(3)(d)1., F. S., published in Volume 39, No. 95, of the May 15, 2013, issue of the Florida Administrative Register.

The changes are in response to multiple public hearing held on this rule as follows: August 2, 2013; October 3, 2013; December 6, 2013; February 6, 2014; April 3, 2013; June 5, 2014; October 9, 2014; December 4, 2014; and February 6, 2015. At the nine (9) public hearings, the Rules Committee and the Board reviewed many written comments and heard oral testimony from many interested parties.

SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COST AND LEGISLATIVE RATIFICATION:

Additionally, at the December 4, 2014 public hearing, the Committee determined that a Statement of Estimated Regulatory Costs (SERC) should be prepared. At the Board’s meeting held on February 6, 2015, the Board voted to approve the SERC and to make additional changes the proposed rule. Prior to filing the Notice of Change, the Board received correspondence from the staff of the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee dated February 17, 2015, with regard to the SERC and inquiring as to whether the rule required legislative ratification. The Board held a telephone conference meeting on March 4, 2015, and based upon the written comments from the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee and discussion of the Board, the Board determined that the rule would indeed, require legislative ratification and that the SERC needed to be revised to state as such. The changes to the proposed rule are as follows:

 

1. The proposed subsection (3) of the rule shall read: (3) (4) Reasonable costs of reproducing x-rays, and such other special kinds of records shall be the actual costs. The phrase “actual costs” means the cost of the material and supplies used to duplicate the record, as well as the labor costs and overhead costs associated with duplication, plus postage.

2. A new subsection (4) of the rule shall be added to read: (4) Accessing medical records through patient portals does not constitute the reproduction of medical records.

 

In addition to the changes set forth above, the Board voted to approve the SERC prepared by Board staff. The summary of the SERC is as follows: The rule sets forth a single fee of $1.00 per page for the reproduction of medical records. According to the SERC, the proposed changes are likely to have an adverse impact in the excess of $1million in the aggregate within 5 years. There will most likely be an increased costs to doing business in small laws firms that are defined as small businesses. As far as the impact on business competitiveness, the proposed rule may have an impact on the smaller law firms vs. the larger firms because smaller firms have less capital to recoup upfront costs. Individuals affected by the proposed rule are patients that request medical records from a physician’s office, when those records are in excess of 25 pages. The SERC estimates that the Department of Health, when investigating physicians in disciplinary cases will incur increased costs of approximately $100,000 within 5 years after implementation of the rule. Attorneys in small law firms representing patients in civil suits may incur increased costs but the data is limited and many factors are unknown, making it difficult to estimate these increased costs. The SERC finds that it is likely that the proposed rule will have an adverse impact on economic growth, private sector job creation or employment, or investment in excess of $1 million in the aggregate within 5 years. Based upon the information contained in the SERC, the rule will require ratification by the Legislature.

 

THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: André Ourso, J.D., M.P.H., Executive Director, Board of Medicine, 4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin #C03, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3253. A copy of the SERC may be obtained by emailing your request to Andre Ourso at [e-mail].