Minnesota Session Laws - 2001, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 211-H.F.No. 1406 
                  An act relating to health; establishing maternal death 
                  reviews; amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 
                  13.3806, by adding a subdivision; 144.335, subdivision 
                  1; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
                  chapter 145; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2000, 
                  sections 13.3806, subdivision 19; and 145.90. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 13.3806, is 
        amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
           Subd. 19a.  [MATERNAL DEATH.] Access to and classification 
        of medical data and health records related to maternal death 
        studies are governed by section 145.901. 
           Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 144.335, 
        subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
           Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] For the purposes of this 
        section, the following terms have the meanings given them: 
           (a) "Patient" means a natural person who has received 
        health care services from a provider for treatment or 
        examination of a medical, psychiatric, or mental condition, the 
        surviving spouse and parents of a deceased patient, or a person 
        the patient appoints in writing as a representative, including a 
        health care agent acting pursuant to chapter 145C, unless the 
        authority of the agent has been limited by the principal in the 
        principal's health care directive.  Except for minors who have 
        received health care services pursuant to sections 144.341 to 
        144.347, in the case of a minor, patient includes a parent or 
        guardian, or a person acting as a parent or guardian in the 
        absence of a parent or guardian. 
           (b) "Provider" means (1) any person who furnishes health 
        care services and is regulated to furnish the services pursuant 
        to chapter 147, 147A, 147B, 147C, 147D, 148, 148B, 148C, 150A, 
        151, 153, or 153A, or Minnesota Rules, chapter 4666; (2) a home 
        care provider licensed under section 144A.46; (3) a health care 
        facility licensed pursuant to this chapter or chapter 144A; (4) 
        a physician assistant registered under chapter 147A; and (5) an 
        unlicensed mental health practitioner regulated pursuant to 
        sections 148B.60 to 148B.71. 
           (c) "Individually identifiable form" means a form in which 
        the patient is or can be identified as the subject of the health 
        records. 
           Sec. 3.  [145.901] [MATERNAL DEATH STUDIES.] 
           Subdivision 1.  [PURPOSE.] The commissioner of health may 
        conduct maternal death studies to assist the planning, 
        implementation, and evaluation of medical, health, and welfare 
        service systems and to reduce the numbers of preventable 
        maternal deaths in Minnesota. 
           Subd. 2.  [ACCESS TO DATA.] (a) The commissioner of health 
        has access to medical data as defined in section 13.384, 
        subdivision 1, paragraph (b), medical examiner data as defined 
        in section 13.83, subdivision 1, and health records created, 
        maintained, or stored by providers as defined in section 
        144.335, subdivision 1, paragraph (b), without the consent of 
        the subject of the data, and without the consent of the parent, 
        spouse, other guardian, or legal representative of the subject 
        of the data, when the subject of the data is a woman who died 
        during a pregnancy or within 12 months of a fetal death, a live 
        birth, or other termination of a pregnancy. 
           The commissioner has access only to medical data and health 
        records related to deaths that occur on or after July 1, 2000.  
           (b) The provider or responsible authority that creates, 
        maintains, or stores the data shall furnish the data upon the 
        request of the commissioner.  The provider or responsible 
        authority may charge a fee for providing the data, not to exceed 
        the actual cost of retrieving and duplicating the data. 
           (c) The commissioner shall make a good faith reasonable 
        effort to notify the parent, spouse, other guardian, or legal 
        representative of the subject of the data before collecting data 
        on the subject.  For purposes of this paragraph, "reasonable 
        effort" means one notice is sent by certified mail to the last 
        known address of the parent, spouse, guardian, or legal 
        representative informing the recipient of the data collection 
        and offering a public health nurse support visit if desired.  
           (d) The commissioner does not have access to coroner or 
        medical examiner data that are part of an active investigation 
        as described in section 13.83. 
           Subd. 3.  [MANAGEMENT OF RECORDS.] After the commissioner 
        has collected all data about a subject of a maternal death study 
        needed to perform the study, the data from source records 
        obtained under subdivision 2, other than data identifying the 
        subject, must be transferred to separate records to be 
        maintained by the commissioner.  Notwithstanding section 138.17, 
        after the data have been transferred, all source records 
        obtained under subdivision 2 possessed by the commissioner must 
        be destroyed. 
           Subd. 4.  [CLASSIFICATION OF DATA.] (a) Data provided to 
        the commissioner from source records under subdivision 2, 
        including identifying information on individual providers, data 
        subjects, or their children, and data derived by the 
        commissioner under subdivision 3 for the purpose of carrying out 
        maternal death studies, are classified as confidential data on 
        individuals or confidential data on decedents, as defined in 
        sections 13.02, subdivision 3, and 13.10, subdivision 1, 
        paragraph (a). 
           (b) Information classified under paragraph (a) shall not be 
        subject to discovery or introduction into evidence in any 
        administrative, civil, or criminal proceeding.  Such information 
        otherwise available from an original source shall not be immune 
        from discovery or barred from introduction into evidence merely 
        because it was utilized by the commissioner in carrying out 
        maternal death studies. 
           (c) Summary data on maternal death studies created by the 
        commissioner, which does not identify individual data subjects 
        or individual providers, shall be public in accordance with 
        section 13.05, subdivision 7. 
           Sec. 4.  [REPEALER.] 
           Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 13.3806, subdivision 19; 
        and 145.90, are repealed. 
           Presented to the governor May 25, 2001 
           Signed by the governor May 29, 2001, 11:26 a.m.