CRC - 2017                                                  P 99
       
       
        
       By Commissioner Cerio
       
       ceriot-00105-17                                         201799__
    1                         A proposal to amend                       
    2         Section 25 of Article X of the State Constitution to
    3         specify that the patients’ right to know about adverse
    4         medical incidents does not abrogate attorney-client
    5         communications or work product privileges for
    6         patients, health care providers, and health care
    7         facilities and to revise the definition of the term
    8         “adverse medical incident.”
    9          
   10  Be It Proposed by the Constitution Revision Commission of
   11  Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 25 of Article X of the State Constitution is
   14  amended to read:
   15                              ARTICLE X                            
   16                            MISCELLANEOUS                          
   17         SECTION 25. Patients’ right to know about adverse medical
   18  incidents.—
   19         (a) In addition to any other similar rights provided herein
   20  or by general law, patients have a right to have access to any
   21  records made or received in the course of business by a health
   22  care facility or provider relating to any adverse medical
   23  incident.
   24         (b) In providing such access, the identity of patients
   25  involved in the incidents shall not be disclosed, and any
   26  privacy restrictions imposed by federal law shall be maintained.
   27         (c) For purposes of this section, the following terms have
   28  the following meanings:
   29         (1) The phrases “health care facility” and “health care
   30  provider” have the meaning given in general law related to a
   31  patient’s rights and responsibilities.
   32         (2) The term “patient” means an individual who has sought,
   33  is seeking, is undergoing, or has undergone care or treatment in
   34  a health care facility or by a health care provider.
   35         (3) The phrase “adverse medical incident” means medical
   36  negligence, intentional misconduct, and any other act, neglect,
   37  or default of a health care facility or health care provider
   38  that caused or could have caused injury to or death of a
   39  patient, including, but not limited to, those incidents that are
   40  required by state or federal law to be reported to any
   41  governmental agency or body, and incidents that are reported to
   42  or reviewed by any health care facility peer review, risk
   43  management, quality assurance, credentials, or similar
   44  committee, or any representative of any such committees, unless
   45  otherwise protected by federal laws or regulations relating to
   46  patient safety quality improvement.
   47         (4) The phrase “have access to any records” means, in
   48  addition to any other procedure for producing such records
   49  provided by general law, making the records available for
   50  inspection and copying upon formal or informal request by the
   51  patient or a representative of the patient, provided that
   52  current records which have been made publicly available by
   53  publication or on the Internet may be “provided” by reference to
   54  the location at which the records are publicly available.
   55         (d) This section does not abrogate attorney-client
   56  communications or work product privileges for patients, health
   57  care providers, or health care facilities.