AB 1697: Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.

Existing law, the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, provides that a record or signature may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form. The act exempts from its provisions, among other things, specific transactions, including an authorization for the release of medical information by a provider of health care, health care service plan, pharmaceutical company, or contractor and an authorization for the release of genetic test results by a health care service plan under the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act.

This bill would delete the exemption for the above-described authorizations under the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act and would make conforming changes.

Existing law requires that the authorization for release of medical information contain a specific end date.

This bill would, instead, require that the authorization contain an expiration date or event, as defined, and would limit the duration of the authorization to one year or less, except as provided. The bill would also require that the person to whom the medical information pertains receives a copy of the authorization for that authorization to be valid.

This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 56.05 of the Civil Code proposed by AB 254 to be operative only if this bill and AB 254 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.