SB285 Summary

• Requires all Alabama hospitals to submit inpatient and outpatient discharge data to the Department of Public Health beginning April 1, 2021, and quarterly thereafter, with systems operational by January 1, 2021.

• Designates the Department of Public Health as the state agency to collect, compile, analyze, and disseminate hospital discharge data while maintaining confidentiality and compliance with the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).

• Establishes the Hospital Discharge Data Advisory Council with 12 members including hospital representatives, physicians, insurance representatives, a consumer member, and the Alabama Medicaid Agency Commissioner to advise the department on rules and data protection standards.

• Imposes civil penalties on hospitals for delinquent reporting: $0.05 per discharge record per day, with a maximum penalty of $10 per record, and allows the State Health Officer to waive penalties for acts of God or other uncontrollable circumstances.

• Protects individual patient data as confidential and privileged from discovery, prohibits public disclosure of information that could reveal patient identity, and grants qualified immunity to persons or entities reporting discharge data unless they knowingly report false information.