§ 2995 — Structure and definitions

§ 2995. Structure and definitions. 1. Structure. * (a) The department\nshall undertake an initiative for the purposes of increasing the\ninformation available to patients about health care providers and health\ncare plans, and improving the quality of health care in this state, by\ncreating a statewide health information system, collecting health\ninformation for dissemination by means of such system, and studying\nadditional uses of such information. Such moneys as may be necessary to\neffect the purpose of this section may be appropriated to the department\nfor its expenses.\n * NB Effective until March 31, 2026\n * (a) The department shall undertake an initiative for the purposes of\nincreasing the information available to patients about health care\nproviders and health care plans, and improving the quality of health\ncare in this state, by creating a statewide health information system,\ncollecting health information for dissemination by means of such system,\nand studying additional uses of such information. Such moneys as may be\nnecessary to effect the purpose of this section may be appropriated to\nthe department for its expenses, but in no event shall funds be diverted\nfrom existing uses of the office of professional medical conduct in\norder to fulfill the purposes of this section.\n * NB Effective March 31, 2026\n (b) The department shall promulgate rules for the purpose of\nimplementing the provisions of this title.\n 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this title:\n (a) "Health care plan" shall mean a health maintenance organization,\nas defined by subdivision one of section forty-four hundred one of this\nchapter, a health service corporation licensed pursuant to article\nforty-three of the insurance law, a prepaid health services plan\nlicensed pursuant to section forty-four hundred three-a of this chapter,\nor an integrated delivery system licensed pursuant to section forty-four\nhundred eight-a of this chapter.\n (b) "Health information" shall mean physician data, hospital data, and\nhealth care plan data, to the extent such data is disclosable pursuant\nto any provision of law. Such term shall not include individual patient\ndata, except to the extent such data is disclosable pursuant to any\nother provision of law.\n (c) "Individual patient data" shall mean any information concerning an\nindividual patient, whether held orally or recorded in any form or\nmedium, including, but not limited to, information derived from a\nbiological sample from the patient, the sample itself or genetic\ninformation that:\n (i) relates to the physical or mental health of the patient, the\nprovision of health care to the patient, or the payment for the\nprovision of health care to the patient; and\n (ii) (A) identifies the individual patient;\n (B) could forseeably be used or manipulated to identify the individual\npatient; or\n (C) could forseeably be linked or matched to any other information\ndescribed in clause (A) or (B) of this subparagraph.\n (d) "Statewide health information system" shall mean a collection of\nhealth information to be publicly available on an ongoing basis for the\npurpose of making statewide comparisons.\n (e) "Preferred provider organization data" shall mean data collected\nfrom an insurance company subject to article thirty-two of the insurance\nlaw, a corporation subject to article forty-three of the insurance law,\nor a municipal cooperative health benefit plan certified pursuant to\narticle forty-seven of the insurance law, with respect to preferred\nprovider organization (PPO) products, as defined by the commissioner in\nconsultation with the superintendent, offered by such entities.\n (f) "Health care practitioner" shall mean a physician, nurse\npractitioner, or physician assistant licensed or certified pursuant to\ntitle eight of the education law.\n (g) "Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy" shall mean sudden,\nunexpected death in patients with epilepsy, with or without evidence of\na seizure.\n