(a)  The department shall develop regulations regarding the confidentiality of patient information received, accessed, or held by the HIE and is authorized to promulgate other regulations as the department deems necessary or desirable to implement the provisions of this chapter, in accordance with the provisions set forth in chapter 17 of Title 23 and chapter 35 of Title 42.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-5

  • Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
  • Confidential healthcare information: means all information relating to a patient's healthcare history, diagnosis, condition, treatment, or evaluation. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3
  • Healthcare provider: means any person or entity licensed by this state to provide or lawfully providing healthcare services, including, but not limited to, a physician, hospital, intermediate-care facility or other healthcare facility, dentist, nurse, optometrist, podiatrist, physical therapist, psychiatric social worker, pharmacist, or psychologist, and any officer, employee, or agent of that provider acting in the course and scope of his or her employment or agency related to or supportive of healthcare services. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3
  • Healthcare services: means acts of diagnosis, treatment, medical evaluation, referral, or counseling, or any other acts that may be permissible under the healthcare licensing statutes of this state. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3
  • HIE: means the technical system operated, or to be operated, by the RHIO under state authority allowing for the statewide electronic mobilization of confidential healthcare information, pursuant to this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Patient: means a person who receives healthcare services from a provider participant. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3
  • RHIO: means the organization designated as the RHIO by the state to provide administrative and operational support to the HIE. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-37.7-3

(b)  The department has exclusive jurisdiction over the HIE, except with respect to the jurisdiction conferred upon the attorney general in § 5-37.7-13. This chapter shall not apply to any other private and/or public health information systems utilized within a healthcare provider or other organization that provides healthcare services.

(c)  The department shall promulgate rules and regulations for the establishment of an HIE advisory commission. The HIE advisory commission, in consultation with the RHIO, will be responsible for recommendations relating to the department regarding the use of, and appropriate confidentiality protections for, the confidential healthcare information of the HIE. The commission members shall be subject to the advice and consent of the senate. The commission shall report annually to the department, and the report shall be made public.

History of Section.
P.L. 2008, ch. 171, § 2; P.L. 2008, ch. 466, § 2; P.L. 2021, ch. 362, § 1, effective July 12, 2021; P.L. 2021, ch. 364, § 1, effective July 12, 2021.