Minutes of June 10, 1998 Meeting

Corrected 7/6/98

A meeting of the Law Revision Commission Committee on Confidentiality of Medical Records was held commencing at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 10, 1998 in Hearing Room 1A in the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, Connecticut. Those attending were: Commission members Committee Chairman Joseph J. Selinger, Jr., William R. Breetz, and Joel I. Rudikoff; advisors Larry Berliner, Elizabeth M. Burns, Regina Dacier, Joseph Grabarz, Andrew Groher, Peter Kane, Jennifer Jackson, Stephen Lewis, Richard J. Lynch, Michelle Cormier for Marcia Noll, David W. Parke, Anne Creich and June M. Wiehn for Commissioner Kristine Ragaglia, Marybeth Reinhardt, Steve Ristau, Robert Scalettar, and Jeannette C. Schreiber; and Commission staff David Hemond and David Biklen.

Mr. Selinger called the meeting to order and described the General Assembly Public Health Committee and Judiciary Committee request for a review of the laws concerning confidentiality of medical records. Mr. Hemond then reviewed various materials distributed and their potential use in reviewing existing state law as well as matters currently under consideration in Congress. Advisors then introduced themselves and provided a brief description of their perspectives and concerns.

Among the issues raised were:

definitions,

fairness of the process,

preserving patient confidentiality while enabling peer review,

providing DCF adequate access to records in termination and abuse cases,

maintaining and facilitating access to information for HMOs as necessary for quality improvement,

reviewing security of records, including how they are kept and how they are transmitted,

providing adequate patient identifiers to allow patient records to be tracked,

maintaining personal privacy and clarifying patient’s proprietary right in his records,

providing clarity in the law and addressing overlaps and inconsistencies – particularly in case of dual diagnosed patient,

clarifying relationship between state and federal law and law respecting required disclosure pursuant to subpoena,

review of reporting protocols and resolution of conflict,

manner in which confidential information loses cloak of confidentiality,

problems with marketing of records and commercialization of private information,

problem of open-ended waivers and authorizations required by insurers and HMOS,

potential abuses of medical data bureaus and lack of consumer/patient protections,

employer/employee confidentiality problems where employer wears more than one hat or operates through an EAP program or as a self-insurer and in workers compensation contexts,

lack of explicit or statutory general right of privacy as to one’s medical records and lack of clarity of existing common law,

impact of information revolution and lack of standards for technological uses,

problems with financial verification and setting appropriate boundaries on information dissemination,

availability of recourses for violation of confidentiality,

physician problems in record-keeping including chilling effect that record requirements and possible dissemination of record has on the creation of an objective record,

misinterpretation and misuse of data, and

difficulty of developing appropriate boundaries for dissemination where legitimate interests of parties conflict.

Mr. Selinger noted the need for understanding the dynamics of the flow of information. At Dr. Scalettar’s suggestion, Mr. Hemond agreed to obtain and circulate copies of a paper entitled "The Health Data Privacy Debate".

Mr. Selinger announced that K. King Burnett, Chairman of the Committee that acted for the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in preparing the Uniform Health-Care Information Act, would speak to the committee at the next committee meeting scheduled for July 8 at 4:00 p.m.

Mr. Kane asked that members consider revising the meeting date.

The meeting adjourned at 6:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

  /S/

David L. Hemond
Reporter/Drafter

Back to Main Page                    See Agenda for this meeting