13. Emergency medical services records

While many records relating to emergency management services provided by various government agencies are presumptively available pursuant to the general provisions of the Public Records Act, there are significant restrictions on availability of such records arising from the1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA"), Pub. L. No. 104-191, 110 Stat. 1936 (1996) (codified as amended in scattered sections of 42 U.S.C. and 29 U.S.C.); note also that AS 40.25.120(a)(3) exempts “medical and related public health records.”

With some exceptions, information, records, and data pertaining to the administration or evaluation of the Arizona emergency medical services system or trauma system are open to the public.  A.R.S. § 36-2220(A).  Prehospital incident history reports also are available to the public provided confidential or other protected information is removed.  A.R.S. § 36-2220(C).  But medical records or other records containing personally identifiable information may not be released unless required by law or pursuant to authorization.  A.R.S. §§ 36-2220(A)(1), (B).

The constitutional right to privacy would apply to most individually identifying medical records, including emergency services records. The investigatory records exemption of Section 7923.600 of the CPRA, however, does not specifically apply to emergency medical services records. Thus, they would not fall within the exemption for investigatory files unless the records specifically relate to a criminal investigation (and thus properly belong in the investigatory file) and the likelihood of enforcement has ripened into something that is concrete and definite. See Williams v. Superior Court, 5 Cal. 4th 337, 356, 19 Cal. Rptr. 2d 882, 852 P.2d 377 (1993) (discussing investigatory files exemption).

Not specified.

Not specifically addressed by the statute, but many of these records would implicate the privacy exemption, D.C. Code Ann. § 2-534(a)(2), and the investigatory records exemption, id. § 2-534(a)(3).

The Act exempts from disclosure medical records and similar files, the disclosure of which would be an invasion of personal privacy.  But the exemption, like others in the Act, must be construed narrowly and cannot serve as the basis for non-disclosure of non-privileged information in such records. See, e.g., Griffin-Spalding County Hospital Authority v. Radio Station WKEU, 240 Ga. 444 (1978) (affirming order allowing access to records relating to the ambulance service operated by a hospital; “the intent of the Open Records Act would be circumvented if nonprivileged information which the public had a right to see could be barred from public review by mixing the information with information that the public did have a right to see”).

Records and information contained in the trauma registry created by chapter 20, title 57, Idaho Code, together with any reports, analyses and compilations created from such information and records is exempt from disclosure under the Act.  Idaho Code § 74-106(23).   Moreover, records of hospital care and medical care records of individuals are specifically exempt.  Idaho Code § 74-106(13).

There is no specific provision relating to emergency medical services records in the Access to Public Records Act. However, Indiana Code Section 16-31-2-11 governs the accessibility of emergency medical service records. Any pre-hospital ambulance rescue or record that an emergency ambulance service employing paramedics or emergency medical technicians uses or compiles is generally confidential. However, certain information within these record is public: the date and time of the request for ambulance services; the reason for the request for assistance; the time and nature of the response to the request for ambulance services; the time of arrival at the scene where the patient was located; the time of departure from the scene where the patient was located; and the name of the facility, if any, to which the patient was delivered for further treatment and the time of arrival at that facility. Id. § 16-31-2-11(d).

Generally confidential pursuant to Iowa Code § 22.7(2).  “Iowa Trauma Patient Data Dictionary” and the “Iowa EMS Patient Registry Data Dictionary” are available through the Iowa Department of is available through the Iowa Department of Public Health, Bureau of Emergency Medical Services, Lucas State Office Building, Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0075, or the bureau of EMS Web site (www.idph.state.ia.us/ems).

One Court of Appeal has held that tapes of calls to 911 requesting emergency medical assistance were exempt as being “privileged communications between a health care provider and a patient.” Hill v. East Baton Rouge Parish Dept. of Emergency, 925 So.2d 17 (La.App. 1st Cir. 2005), writ denied, 927 So.2d 311 (La. 2006).

Medical records and reports of municipal ambulance, rescue, and other emergency units are not available.  1 M.R.S.A. § 402(3)(H).  However, these records are available upon request to law enforcement officers investigating criminal conduct.  Id.

Medical information, including the symptoms or condition of an individual recorded during a call to 911 to dispatch emergency personnel is protected. 90 Opinions of the Attorney General 45 (2005).

These records are not specifically addressed under the Act.

Required to be kept confidential. Att’y Gen. No. 93-0592, Oct. 6, 1993 to Lawrence.

Ambulance services and emergency medical response agencies shall maintain records of each patient and keep the records for five years. Mo.Rev.Stat. § 190.175(1) and (2). The records are available to the Department of Health and Senior Services. Mo.Rev.Stat. § 190.175.5.

Generally private and not accessible unless the demands of individual privacy do not clearly exceed the merits of public disclosure.

There is no law on point.

See Donrey of Nevada, Inc. v. Bradshaw, 106 Nev. 630 (1990).

Neither the Statute nor case law addresses this issue.

Health information relating to and identifying specific individuals is confidential and is not available to the public “even though the information is in the custody of or contained in the records of a governmental agency.”  NMSA 1978 § 14-6-1.

Presumably open, but there is no law that speaks directly to the issue.

EMS records are not specifically addressed by statute but should generally be public under the broad definition of public records. However, North Carolina EMS departments increasingly are withholding information pursuant to HIPAA.

Please see the discussion of 911 records.

Emergency medical services records may be exempt as medical records.  Ohio Rev. Code § 149.43(A)(3); see § 149.43(A)(1)(a).  However, to be exempt, the record must be maintained or generated in the process of medical treatment. Therefore, a patient care report generated by an emergency medical service squad did not qualify where the squad found the victim dead when it arrived, and thus provided no medical treatment. State ex rel. Ware v. City of Cleveland, 55 Ohio App. 3d 75, 562 N.E.2d 946 (1989).

While there has been no direct case on point, the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) has provided records in response to requests made under the Oklahoma Open Records Act EMSA is a public trust authority subject to the Act.

ORS 192.355(2) (formerly ORS 192.502(2)) exempts information of a personal nature, including but not limited to the type of information kept in a personal, medical or similar file, if public disclosure of the information would constitute an “unreasonable invasion of privacy.” See also ORS 192.398. Program data concerning emergency medical technicians is regulated by ORS 41.685.

There is no statutory or case law addressing this issue. In practice, these records are treated like medical records in that the requester needs a medical authorization form to obtain them.

Identities of patients and emergency medical technicians in emergency medical records must be confidential pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); however, SC FOIA provides that the remedy for protected information is redaction not the withholding of an entire record.  S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-40(b).

Uncertain, but likely closed. SDCL §§1-27-1.5(2) and (5).

Generally treated the same as non-emergency records, which are generally closed.

Personal information regarding patients attended by emergency medical services personnel may not be accessed, as such information is made confidential by the Health and Safety Code and Transportation Code. Butler v. State, No. 14-00-01186-CR, 2003 WL 253296, at *7 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Feb. 6, 2003, no pet.). Information regarding the presence, nature of injury or illness, age, sex, occupation, and city of residence of a patient who is receiving emergency medical services may be released. See Op. Tex. Att’y Gen. OR 2017-28782.

GRAMA classifies as private “records containing data on individuals describing medical history, diagnosis, condition, treatment, evaluation, or similar medical data.” Utah Code § 63G-2-302(1)(b).

Not specifically addressed. However, Vermont directly prohibits disclosure of “[i]nformation relating to customer name, address, and any other specific customer information collected, organized, acquired, or held by” the entity operating a public safety answering point or administering the Enhanced 911 database.  30 V.S.A. § 7055(b). This type of information in the hands of an emergency service provider is not public information and is exempt from disclosure under 1 V.S.A. chapter 5, subchapter 3.” 30 V.S.A. § 7059(c).

Further, “[a]ll persons receiving confidential information . . .  shall use it solely for the purposes of providing emergency 911 services, and shall not disclose such confidential information for any other purpose.” 30 V.S.A. § 7055(b).

Patient information submitted to the State Health Commissioner and other persons under the statewide EMS plan is confidential.  Va. Code Ann. § 32.1-116.2.

No specific statute or case law. Likely subject to the exemption for health care information, which is exempt except for certain directory information. RCW 42.56.360(2).

(This section is blank. See the point above.)

Currently, emergency medical services claim that public access to their records are prohibited by HIPAA.  The claim has not yet been litigated.