Connecticut General Statutes 38a-988a – Sale of individually identifiable medical record information prohibited. Written consent re disclosure for marketing purposes. Exceptions. Cause of action for violations
(a) No person, including, but not limited to, insurance institutions, agents, insurance support organizations, health care professionals, medical care centers, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies, schools and universities, and no person’s agent, contractor or employee, shall sell or offer for sale individually identifiable medical record information, as defined in § 38a-976. No person shall disclose, for purposes of marketing, individually identifiable medical record information without the prior written consent of the individual to whom the individually identifiable medical record information pertains or, in the case of a minor, of the minor’s parent or guardian. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit (1) a person from disclosing individually identifiable medical record information as permitted under § 38a-988, any other applicable state or federal law or in connection with a collectively bargained agreement, or (2) a health care provider from transferring individual identifiable medical record information for the purposes of clinical research, utilization review, quality review, performance improvement, billing for services or other functions performed by health care providers or their agents in support of direct patient care, provided (A) in the case of clinical research, no individually identifiable medical record information may be disclosed by the clinical researcher, unless the disclosure would otherwise be permitted, and (B) the entity to whom the information is transferred agrees not to disclose the information unless the disclosure would otherwise be permitted if made by the transferer. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a person from transferring individually identifiable medical record information to another person as part of a consummated sale of that person to another person or consummated merger by that person with another person or to a successor in interest. For the purposes of this section, “insurance transaction” as used in § 38a-988 shall apply to any insurance including insurance for personal, family, household, business or professional needs, and “insurance institution” as used in said § 38a-988 includes self-insured employers for workers’ compensation purposes and third-party administrators.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 38a-988a
- another: may extend and be applied to communities, companies, corporations, public or private, limited liability companies, societies and associations. See Connecticut General Statutes 1-1
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Insurance: means any agreement to pay a sum of money, provide services or any other thing of value on the happening of a particular event or contingency or to provide indemnity for loss in respect to a specified subject by specified perils in return for a consideration. See Connecticut General Statutes 38a-1
- Person: means an individual, a corporation, a partnership, a limited liability company, an association, a joint stock company, a business trust, an unincorporated organization or other legal entity. See Connecticut General Statutes 38a-1
- State: means any state, district, or territory of the United States. See Connecticut General Statutes 38a-1
(b) An individual harmed by a violation of this section may bring an action for equitable relief, damages or both. Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be liable to the individual harmed for double damages, costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees. No action under this section shall be brought but within two years from the date when the violation first occurs or is discovered, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have been discovered, and except that no such action may be brought more than five years from the date of the violation complained of.