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1 | AN ACT concerning civil law.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by | ||||||
5 | changing Section 8-2001 as follows:
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6 | (735 ILCS 5/8-2001) (from Ch. 110, par. 8-2001)
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7 | Sec. 8-2001. Examination of records.
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8 | In this Section, "health care facility" or "facility" means | ||||||
9 | a public or
private hospital, ambulatory surgical treatment | ||||||
10 | center, nursing home,
independent practice association, or | ||||||
11 | physician hospital organization, or any
other entity where | ||||||
12 | health care services are provided to any person. The term
does | ||||||
13 | not include an organizational structure whose records are | ||||||
14 | subject to
Section 8-2003.
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15 | Every private and public health care facility shall, upon | ||||||
16 | the request of any
patient who has been treated in such health | ||||||
17 | care facility, or any person, entity, or organization | ||||||
18 | presenting a valid authorization for the release of records | ||||||
19 | signed by the patient or the patient's legally authorized | ||||||
20 | representative, permit the patient,
his or her physician ,
or
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21 | authorized attorney , or any person, entity, or organization | ||||||
22 | presenting a valid authorization for the release of records | ||||||
23 | signed by the patient or the patient's legally authorized | ||||||
24 | representative to examine the health care facility
patient care | ||||||
25 | records,
including but not limited to the history, bedside | ||||||
26 | notes, charts, pictures
and plates, kept in connection with the | ||||||
27 | treatment of such patient, and
permit copies of such records to | ||||||
28 | be made by him or her or his or her
physician or authorized | ||||||
29 | attorney. A request for copies of the records shall
be in | ||||||
30 | writing and shall be delivered to the administrator or manager | ||||||
31 | of
such health care facility. The health care facility shall be | ||||||
32 | reimbursed by the
person requesting copies of records at the |
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1 | time of such copying for all
reasonable expenses, including the | ||||||
2 | costs of independent copy service companies,
incurred by the | ||||||
3 | health care facility in connection with such copying not to
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4 | exceed a $20 handling charge for processing the
request for | ||||||
5 | copies, and 75 cents per page for the first through 25th pages, | ||||||
6 | 50
cents per page for the 26th through 50th pages, and 25 cents | ||||||
7 | per page for all
pages in excess of 50 (except that the charge | ||||||
8 | shall not exceed $1.25 per page
for any copies made from | ||||||
9 | microfiche or microfilm), and actual shipping costs.
These | ||||||
10 | rates shall be automatically adjusted as set forth in Section | ||||||
11 | 8-2006.
The health care facility may, however, charge for the
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12 | reasonable cost of all duplication of
record material or | ||||||
13 | information that cannot routinely be copied or duplicated on
a | ||||||
14 | standard commercial photocopy machine such as x-ray films or | ||||||
15 | pictures.
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16 | The requirements of this Section shall be satisfied within | ||||||
17 | 30 days of the
receipt of a written request by a patient or by | ||||||
18 | his or her legally authorized
representative, physician, or
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19 | authorized attorney , or any person, entity, or organization | ||||||
20 | presenting a valid authorization for the release of records | ||||||
21 | signed by the patient or the patient's legally authorized | ||||||
22 | representative . If the health care facility
needs more time to | ||||||
23 | comply with the request, then within 30 days after receiving
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24 | the request, the facility must provide the requesting party | ||||||
25 | with a written
statement of the reasons for the delay and the | ||||||
26 | date by which the requested
information will be provided. In | ||||||
27 | any event, the facility must provide the
requested information | ||||||
28 | no later than 60 days after receiving the request.
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29 | A health care facility must provide the public with at | ||||||
30 | least 30 days prior
notice of the closure of the facility. The | ||||||
31 | notice must include an explanation
of how copies of the | ||||||
32 | facility's records may be accessed by patients. The
notice may | ||||||
33 | be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation | ||||||
34 | in the
area in which the health care facility is located.
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35 | Failure to comply with the time limit requirement of this | ||||||
36 | Section shall
subject the denying party to expenses and |
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1 | reasonable attorneys' fees
incurred in connection with any | ||||||
2 | court ordered enforcement of the provisions
of this Section.
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3 | (Source: P.A. 92-228, eff. 9-1-01; 93-87, eff. 7-2-03.)
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