PRINTER'S NO. 2887
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
2198
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY KRUEGER, BRENNAN, PROBST, MALAGARI, KHAN, GIRAL,
GUENST, BURGOS, BOYD, WARREN, KINSEY, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, KEEFER,
SANCHEZ, HOWARD, HARKINS, McNEILL, HANBIDGE, MUNROE,
T. DAVIS, FREEMAN, SCHWEYER, ROZZI, STURLA, BOROWSKI, BURNS,
RABB, SCHLOSSBERG, WEBSTER, NEILSON, PARKER, HILL-EVANS,
D. MILLER, DELLOSO, D. WILLIAMS, FLEMING, CERRATO,
SHUSTERMAN, KENYATTA AND PASHINSKI, APRIL 9, 2024
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, APRIL 9, 2024
AN ACT
Amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the
Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in rules of evidence,
further providing for subpoena of records and for rights of
patients.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Sections 6152(a)(2) and 6155(b)(1) of Title 42 of
the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes are amended to read:
§ 6152. Subpoena of records.
(a) Election.--
* * *
(2) (i) Except as provided in subparagraph (ii), the
health care provider or facility or a designated agent
shall be entitled to receive payment of the amounts under
this subsection before producing the charts or records
pursuant to a subpoena. [The] If paper copies are
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requested, the payment shall be $20.62 for searching for
and retrieving the records, $1.39 per page for the first
20 pages, $1.03 per page for pages 21 through 60 and 34¢
per page for pages 61 and thereafter for paper copies or
reproductions on electronic media whether the records are
stored on paper or in electronic format; $2.04 per page
for copies from microfilm; plus the actual cost of
postage, shipping or delivery. No other charges for the
retrieval, copying and shipping or delivery of medical
records other than those set forth in this paragraph
shall be permitted without prior approval of the party
requesting the copying of the medical records. The
amounts which may be charged for paper copies shall be
adjusted annually beginning on January 1, 2013, by the
Secretary of Health of the Commonwealth based on the most
recent changes in the consumer price index reported
annually by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United
States Department of Labor.
(i.1) If the charts or records are maintained in an
electronic format and a request is made for the charts or
records to be produced in an electronic format, the
payment shall be $6.50 in responding to the request for
the charts or records.
(ii) Payment to a health care provider or facility
for searching for, retrieving and reproducing medical
charts or records requested by a district attorney shall
be $20.62, search and retrieval fee, plus the actual cost
of postage, shipping or delivery as described in
subparagraph (i), as adjusted by the Secretary of Health
of the Commonwealth, unless otherwise agreed to by the
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district attorney.
* * *
§ 6155. Rights of patients.
* * *
(b) Rights to records generally.--
(1) A patient or his designee, including his attorney,
shall have the right of access to his medical charts and
records and to obtain photocopies of the same, without the
use of a subpoena duces tecum, for his own use. A health care
provider or facility shall not charge a patient or his
designee, including his attorney, a fee in excess of the
amounts set forth in section 6152(a)(2)(i) and (i.1)
(relating to subpoena of records).
* * *
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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