Medical Records.
§ 90-410. Definitions.
As used in this Article:
(1) "Health care provider" means any person who is licensed or certified to practice a health profession or occupation under this Chapter or Chapters 90B or 90C of the General Statutes, a health care facility licensed under Chapters 131E or 122C of the General Statutes, and a representative or agent of a health care provider.
(2) "Medical records" means personal information that relates to an individual's physical or mental condition, medical history, or medical treatment, excluding X rays and fetal monitor records. (1993, c. 529, s. 4.3.)
§ 90-411. Record copy fee.
A health care provider may charge a reasonable fee to cover the costs incurred in searching, handling, copying, and mailing medical records to the patient or the patient's designated representative. The maximum fee for each request shall be seventy-five cents (75¢) per page for the first 25 pages, fifty cents (50¢) per page for pages 26 through 100, and twenty-five cents (25¢) for each page in excess of 100 pages, provided that the health care provider may impose a minimum fee of up to ten dollars ($10.00), inclusive of copying costs. If requested by the patient or the patient's designated representative, nothing herein shall limit a reasonable professional fee charged by a physician for the review and preparation of a narrative summary of the patient's medical record. Charges for medical records and reports related to claims under Article 1 of Chapter 97 of the General Statutes shall be governed by the fees established by the North Carolina Industrial Commission pursuant to G.S. 97-26.1. This section shall not apply to Department of Health and Human Services Disability Determination Services requests for copies of medical records made on behalf of an applicant for Social Security or Supplemental Security Income disability. (1993, c. 529, s. 4.3; 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 679, s. 5.5; 1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 742, s. 36; 1997-443, ss. 11.3, 11A.118(b); 2019-191, s. 42.)
§ 90-412. Electronic medical records.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any health care provider or facility licensed, certified, or registered under the laws of this State or any unit of State or local government may create and maintain medical records in an electronic format. The health care provider, facility, or governmental unit shall not be required to maintain a separate paper copy of the electronic medical record. A health care provider, facility, or governmental unit shall maintain electronic medical records in a legible and retrievable form, including adequate data backup.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any health care provider or facility licensed, certified, or registered under the laws of this State or any unit of State or local government may permit authorized individuals to authenticate orders and other medical record entries by written signature, or by electronic or digital signature in lieu of a signature in ink. Medical record entries shall be authenticated by the individual who made or authorized the entry. For purposes of this section, "authentication" means identification of the author of an entry by that author and confirmation that the contents of the entry are what the author intended.
(c) The legal rights and responsibilities of patients, health care providers, facilities, and governmental units shall apply to records created or maintained in electronic form to the same extent as those rights and responsibilities apply to medical records embodied in paper or other media. This subsection applies with respect to the security, confidentiality, accuracy, integrity, access to, and disclosure of medical records. (1999-247, s. 2; 2007-248, s. 3.)
§ 90-413: Reserved for future codification purposes.