Day on Torts
The TMA hates the Givens and Alsip opinions. The hospitals would prefer they did not exist, but were willing to accept some compromise as opposed to the outright reversal of the decisions sought by the TMA.
This is what the hospitals worked out with the interested parties and the sponsors of the bills:
T.C.A. Sec. 68-11-312 ( a new code section)
(a) It is the public policy of the state of Tennessee to promote effective communications between health care providers while rendering care to their patients.
(b) There is no implied covenant of confidentiality or other restriction that precludes (1) health care providers from communicating with each other in the course of providing care and treatment to a patient, or (2) a health care provider from responding to a request from a hospital regarding entries in the patient’s records of the requesting hospital made or reviewed by that health care provider during the course of providing care and treatment to the patient in the hospital; provided, however, that any information received from a health care provider that corrects or modifies a patient’s hospital record shall be made a part of the patient’s hospital record with a notation as to the date the information was supplied and the name(s) of the person(s) supplying the information.
(c) This section shall not be construed to authorize any disclosure of information that would be prohibited pursuant to the federal Health Insurance and Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Public Law 104-191, as amended.
The Legislation is effective on July 1, 2007. See the actual public chapter here.