Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Protecting Jessica Grubb’s Legacy Act ”.
Protecting Jessica Grubb’s Legacy Act
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to protect the confidentiality of substance use disorder patient records.
Sec. 2 Confidentiality of substance use disorder patient records
Section 543 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290dd–2) is amended—
in the section heading, by inserting “substance use disorder patient” before “records”;
by redesignating subsections (a) through (h) as subsection (b) through (i), respectively;
by inserting before subsection (b), as so redesignated, the following:
“(a) Purpose—It is the purpose of this section to protect the confidentiality of substance use disorder patient records. Except as provided in subsection (f), such records shall be confidential and may be disclosed only for the purposes and under the circumstances expressly authorized under subsection (c), consistent with the allowable uses and disclosures to carry out treatment, payment, or health care operations as defined in regulations promulgated under section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.”
in subsection (b), as so redesignated—
in the subsection heading, by striking “Requirement” and inserting “Definition”;
by striking “Records” and inserting “For purposes of this section, the term substance use disorder patient record means any record”;
by striking “which are” and inserting “that is”; and
by striking “shall, except” and all that follows through “subsection (b)”;
in subsection (c), as so redesignated—
in the subsection heading, by inserting “of substance use disorder patient records ” after “disclosure”;
in paragraph (1)—
by striking “The content” and inserting “Except as described in paragraph (2), the content”;
by striking “record referred to in subsection (a)” and inserting “substance use disorder patient record”; and
by striking “subsection (g)” and inserting “subsection (h)”; and
by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
“(2) Permitted disclosure—Whether or not the patient with respect to whom any substance use disorder patient record referred is maintained gives written consent, the content of such record may be used or disclosed as follows:
“(A) In connection with the provision of medical services or health care to substance use disorder patients consistent with the allowable uses and disclosures to carry out treatment, payment, or health care operations as described in section 164.506 of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.
“(B) To qualified personnel for the purpose of conducting scientific research, management audits, financial audits, or program evaluation, but such personnel may not identify, directly or indirectly, any individual patient in any report of such research, audit, or evaluation, or otherwise disclose patient identities in any manner.”
in subsection (d), as so redesignated—
by striking “Except as authorized” and all that follows through “may be used” and inserting the following:
“(1) In general—Except as authorized by an appropriate order of a court of competent jurisdiction granted after application showing good cause therefor, including the need to avert a substantial risk of death or serious bodily harm:
“(A) No substance use disorder patient record may be used or disclosed to a law enforcement official”
by adding at the end the following:
“(B) In the case of a use or disclosure of the content of a substance use disorder patient record for purposes of treatment, payment, or health care operations as provided for under subsection (c), no further disclosure or re-disclosure of such record is allowed to initiate or substantiate any criminal charges against a patient or to conduct any investigation of a patient.
“(2) Exclusionary effect and dismissal—Any content of a substance use disorder patient record that has been mistakenly, wrongfully, or intentionally used or disclosed to initiate or substantiate any criminal charges against a patient or to conduct any investigation of a patient in violation of paragraph (1)—
“(A) shall be excluded from evidence in any proposed or actual proceedings relating to such criminal charges or investigation; and
“(B) absent good cause shown, shall result in the automatic dismissal of any proceedings for which the content of the record was offered.”
in subsection (h), as so redesignated—
by striking “subsection (h)” and inserting “subsection (i)”; and
by striking “, including procedures and criteria for the issuance and scope of orders under subsection (b)(2)(C),”; and
in subsection (i), as so redesignated, by striking “subsection (g)” and inserting “subsection (h)”.