Sec. 4008. GAO STUDY ON PATIENT ACCESS TO HEALTH INFORMATION
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## SEC. 4008 GAO STUDY ON PATIENT ACCESS TO HEALTH INFORMATION ###
(a)Study ####
(1)In general The Comptroller General of the United States (referred to in this section as the “Comptroller General”) shall build on prior Government Accountability Office studies and other literature review and conduct a study to review patient access to their own protected health information, including barriers to such patient access and complications or difficulties providers experience in providing access to patients. In conducting such study, the Comptroller General shall consider the increase in adoption of health information technology and the increasing prevalence of protected health information that is maintained electronically. ####
(2)Areas of Concentration In conducting the review under paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall consider— #####
(A)instances when covered entities charge individuals, including patients, third parties, and health care providers, for record requests, including records that are requested in an electronic format; #####
(B)examples of the amounts and types of fees charged to individuals for record requests, including instances when the record is requested to be transmitted to a third party; #####
(C)the extent to which covered entities are unable to provide the access requested by individuals in the form and format requested by the individual, including examples of such instances; #####
(D)instances in which third parties may request protected health information through patients’ individual right of access, including instances where such requests may be used to circumvent appropriate fees that may be charged to third parties; #####
(E)opportunities that permit covered entities to charge appropriate fees to third parties for patient records while providing patients with access to their protected health information at low or no cost; #####
(F)the ability of providers to distinguish between requests originating from an individual that require limitation to a cost-based fee and requests originating from third parties that may not be limited to cost-based fees; and #####
(G)other circumstances that may inhibit the ability of providers to provide patients with access to their records, and the ability of patients to gain access to their records. ###
(b)Report Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report to Congress on the findings of the study conducted under subsection (a).