Grants the state commission of correction authority to access inmate medical records

Summary of provisions

Section 1 of the bill would amend Correction Law § 46(1) to specifically include inmate medical records in the type of information to which the Commission has access.

Section 2 of the bill would amend Correction Law § 46(2) to authorize Commission attorneys to issue and enforce subpoenas on behalf of the Commission; it also provides that the Commission's subpoena powers extend to the medical records of inmates that are made outside of a correctional facility during the inmate's incarceration.

Section 3 of the bill provides the effective date.

Existing law

Correction Law § 47 requires the Commission's Correction Medical Review Board ("the Board") to investigate and report on the systems for delivery of medical care to inmates in correctional facilities, and to investigate the death of any such inmate. Pursuant to Correction Law § 46(1), the Commission is entitled to access to all books, records, data or information pertaining to any correctional facility that is deemed necessary for carrying out the commission's functions, powers and duties.

Prior legislative history

This is a new bill.

Statement in support

As the only agency charged with overseeing the overall delivery of health care in jails and prisons, it is imperative that the Commission have access to all inmate medical records. The issue becomes particularly problematic in the case of an inmate death. The Board is

statutorily charged with investigating these deaths, rendering findings and recommendations to prevent future such events. The most seriously ill inmates invariably end up in hospital care, and access to their medical records is vital to ascertaining cause of death, as well as being one of the best sources of information on the quality of care the inmate was receiving in a correctional facility.

The Board's ability to perform these vital functions has been limited by determinations in some jurisdictions that the Commission's authority does not extend to inmate medical records, especially those made and kept outside of a correctional facility. In support of this position, these jurisdictions cite the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA") and the physician-patient privilege set forth in CPLR § 4504. This has resulted in hospitals occasionally refusing to honor Commission subpoenas.

The Commission is currently appealing the decision of the Appellate Division, First Department, upholding the determination of the Supreme Court, New York County, granting the motion of the Health and Hospitals Corporation ("HHC") to quash a Commission subpoena based upon the court's finding that the physician-patient privilege prevented the Commission from accessing these records. See Matter of NYC Health and Hospitals Corp. v. NYS Commission of Correction, 76 A.D.3d 453 (1st Dep't 2010); compare Matter of State Commission of Correction v. Nassau County Medical Center, 137 A.D.2d 127 (3rd Dep't 1988) (upholding Board's subpoena for medical records of inmate who died at the county hospital). The First Department's ruling effectively prevents the Commission from gaining access to any of the New York City Department of Correction (Rikers Island) inmate hospital records, as all New York City inmates are treated at HHC hospitals when acute care is required. As a result, the Board's ability to conduct a thorough investigation of both inmate health care issues and inmate deaths has been hindered. This bill would permit the Board to perform its statutory mandates in every jurisdiction in the State.

Budget implications

This bill would have no budgetary impact.

Effective date

This bill would take effect immediately.