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An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Confidentiality of Health Care Information To Enhance Public Safety
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §1711-C, sub-§6, ¶E, as amended by PL 2011, c. 572, §1, is further amended to read:
 
E. To federal, state or local governmental entities in order to protect the public health and welfare when reporting is required or authorized by law, to report a suspected crime against the health care practitioner or facility or to report information that the health care facility's officials or health care practitioner in good faith believes constitutes evidence of criminal conduct that occurred on the premises of the health care facility or health care practitioner;and when, in a health care practitioner's judgment, disclosure is necessary to:
 
(1) Avert a serious threat to the health or safety of others, if the conditions, as applicable, described in 45 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 164.512(j) (2010) are met; or
 
(2) Prevent or respond to imminent and serious harm to the individual and disclosure is to a health care practitioner for diagnosis or treatment;
 
SUMMARY
Current law permits health care practitioners or facilities to provide private health care information to law enforcement officials and other governmental entities in order to protect public health and welfare when reporting is authorized by law and when reporting a suspected crime against them or a crime they believe occurred on their premises. Federal regulations permit disclosure of private health care information when, in the health care practitioner's judgment, disclosure is necessary to avert a serious threat to the health or safety of others under conditions prescribed by the regulations. This bill makes Maine law consistent with federal regulations and preserves a practioner's ability to report private health care information to law enforcement officials and other governmental entities in order to protect public health and welfare when reporting is authorized by law while expanding permitted disclosure in other cases when necessary to avert a threat to the health or safety of others.