An Act to amend and reenact § 32.1-127.1:03 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 32.1-127.1:06, relating to health records; disclosure of laboratory test results; waiting period.
HB973 amends Virginia’s health records privacy law to create a waiting period before certain laboratory test results may be disclosed to a patient. The bill adds a new section to the Code of Virginia and revises § 32.1-127.1:03, which governs the privacy, disclosure, and redisclosure of health records. In general, the measure preserves the existing rule that health records are private and may be disclosed only as allowed by law, but it adds a specific timing restriction for lab results so that they are not immediately released in every circumstance.
The bill also continues to require health care entities to provide individuals access to their own records, including audit trails of changes when requested, and to allow disclosure to other health care entities in the requester’s chosen format under the statute’s existing rules. It maintains the broader framework for redisclosure limits, HIPAA-consistent disclosures, and research uses of de-identified data. The new waiting-period provision is the main policy change, aimed at balancing patient access with the timing of sensitive diagnostic information.
HB973 changes Virginia law governing health record privacy by adding a new statutory section on disclosure of laboratory test results and by amending the existing health-records confidentiality statute. Its practical effect is to impose a delay before certain lab results are released, while leaving intact the general rights of patients to access their records and the obligations of health care entities to protect confidentiality. Health care providers, hospitals, laboratories, health plans, and clearinghouses are the primary entities affected, along with patients receiving diagnostic testing.
The available context shows the bill was enacted without recorded committee transcript debate or vote history in the materials provided, so there is no documented floor or committee opposition to summarize. The final enactment suggests the measure had sufficient support to pass both chambers and become law. Based on the text alone, the bill appears to reflect a policy compromise between patient access to records and a desire to delay immediate release of sensitive lab information.
The main point of potential contention is the waiting period for laboratory test results, which can be viewed as protecting patients from receiving difficult or confusing results before a clinician can explain them, but also as delaying timely access to personal health information. Another possible issue is how the new timing rule interacts with existing patient-access rights, electronic health record systems, and HIPAA-related disclosure practices. No specific opponents or supporters are identified in the provided discussion materials.