(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any health care provider or facility licensed, certified, or registered under the laws of this State or any unit of State or local government may create and maintain medical records in an electronic format. The health care provider, facility, or governmental unit shall not be required to maintain a separate paper copy of the electronic medical record. A health care provider, facility, or governmental unit shall maintain electronic medical records in a legible and retrievable form, including adequate data backup.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any health care provider or facility licensed, certified, or registered under the laws of this State or any unit of State or local government may permit authorized individuals to authenticate orders and other medical record entries by written signature, or by electronic or digital signature in lieu of a signature in ink. Medical record entries shall be authenticated by the individual who made or authorized the entry. For purposes of this section, “authentication” means identification of the author of an entry by that author and confirmation that the contents of the entry are what the author intended.

(c) The legal rights and responsibilities of patients, health care providers, facilities, and governmental units shall apply to records created or maintained in electronic form to the same extent as those rights and responsibilities apply to medical records embodied in paper or other media. This subsection applies with respect to the security, confidentiality, accuracy, integrity, access to, and disclosure of medical records. (1999-247, s. 2; 2007-248, s. 3.)