Senate Bill 1419, sponsored by the California Medical Association, was signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The law aims to create better doctor-patient relationships and respect patient privacy and wishes when releasing health information.
The law makes four changes:
- Physicians now have time to interpret potentially life-changing test results before releasing them to the patient electronically.
- Patients can choose how they would like to receive information regarding their scan results instead of having immediate access online, often without physician interpretation or guidance.
- It provides additional protections in law for sensitive data such as teens’ mental health and reproductive data.
- It clarifies that clinical notes are considered part of a patient’s medical record.
