(1) Agency records, public records under Florida Statutes Chapter 119 (Florida’s Public Records Law), are available for public inspection during normal business hours. Copies of such records may be obtained upon request and upon payment of the cost of copying.

Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

    (2) Patient-specific records collected by the Agency pursuant to Rules 59E-7.021-.030, F.A.C., are exempt from disclosure pursuant to Florida Statutes § 408.061(7), and shall not be released unless modified to protect patient confidentiality as described in paragraph (2)(a), below, and released in the manner described in paragraphs (2)(c) and (2)(d).
    (a) The patient-specific record shall be modified to protect patient confidentiality as follows:
    1. Patient Control Number as assigned by the facility. Delete.
    2. Patient Social Security Number. Delete.
    3. Patient Birth Date. Substitute age in years and an indicator of Age < 29 Days except for persons 100 and older, substitute age > 100 years.
    4. Admission Date. Delete. (admit month cannot be substituted)
    5. Discharge Date. Substitute quarters 1-4. (discharge month cannot be substituted)
    6. Principal Procedure Date. Days from admission to Principal Procedure will be substituted.
    7. Other Procedure Date. Days from admission to Other Procedure will be substituted.
    8. Infant Linkage ID. Delete.
    9. Medical or Health Record Number. Delete.
    10. ED Date of Arrival. Visit Time Hours (VTH) will be substituted. The VTH will calculate the number of hours spent at the ED from registration to discharge.
    (b) A record linkage number shall be assigned which does not identify an individual patient and cannot reasonably be used to identify an individual patient through use of data available through the Agency for Health Care Administration, but which can be used for confidential data output for bona fide research purposes.
    (c) The modified data records described in paragraph (2)(a), shall be released as a set of all records occurring in one calendar quarter based on date of discharge.
    (d) The modified data described in paragraph (2)(a), shall be released in accordance with the Limited Data Set requirements of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and shall be made available on or after quarterly data has been certified as accurate by the hospitals as required by Section 408.061(1)(a), F.S.
    (3) Aggregate reports derived from patient-specific hospital records collected pursuant to Rules 59E-7.021 through 59E-7.030, F.A.C., are public records and shall be released as described in this rule, provided that the aggregate reports do not include the patient control number as assigned by the facility, patient social security number, record linkage number, patient birth date, admission date, discharge date, principal procedure date, other procedure date, ED date of arrival, infant linkage identifier or medical or health record number and provided the aggregate reports contain the combination of five or more records for any data disclosed.
Rulemaking Authority Florida Statutes § 408.15(8). Law Implemented Florida Statutes § 408.061. History-New 1-1-10, Formerly 59E-7.015, Amended 1-1-18.