SB285 Alabama 2020 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Greg J. Reed

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2020

Title

Public Health Dept., hospitals, discharge date, reporting collection, and release, privacy to be maintained, civil penalties, adoption of rules, release of data to Ala. Hospital Association

Summary

The bill would require statewide collection of hospital discharge data by the Department of Public Health, protect patient privacy, and regulate data sharing, with penalties for late reporting.

What This Bill Does

It designates the Department of Public Health as the state agency to collect, compile, and analyze discharge data. Hospitals must report inpatient and outpatient discharge data quarterly, starting April 1, 2021, with data kept confidential and only publicly released in limited, HIPAA-compliant forms after processing. The department would adopt rules to implement the program and could share limited data sets; a Hospital Discharge Data Advisory Council would advise on rules and privacy protections. The bill also imposes civil penalties for delinquent reporting and restricts public disclosure of identifiable information.

Who It Affects

• Hospitals and hospital systems in Alabama: must submit quarterly inpatient and outpatient discharge data, subject to penalties for delinquent or incomplete reports, and must follow privacy rules when handling data.
• Patients and the general public: individual patient information remains confidential, no public release of identifiable data, and public reports use only non-identifiable or HIPAA-compliant data.

Key Provisions

• Designates the Department of Public Health as the state agency to collect, compile, and analyze hospital discharge data and to operate discharge data systems.
• Hospitals must report inpatient and outpatient discharge data beginning April 1, 2021, with quarterly reporting thereafter; data is provided in a form defined by rules.
• The department may adopt rules to implement the act and may release limited data sets that comply with HIPAA and applicable law.
• Establishes the Hospital Discharge Data Advisory Council to advise on rules, with specific composition (hospital representatives, physicians, insurer, consumer, and Medicaid agency), meeting procedures, and terms.
• Confidentiality and privacy: individually identifiable discharge data is not public; studies and reports must avoid identifying information; processed and verified data may be released publicly only in non-identifiable or HIPAA-compliant forms.
• Civil penalties: hospitals face a delinquency penalty of five cents per discharge record per day, with rules for timeliness (60 days after quarter end), cure periods for incomplete reports, a maximum penalty, and potential waivers or appeals; penalties go to the State General Fund and can affect license renewal if unpaid.
• Data sharing: the department must promptly provide discharge data to the Alabama Hospital Association for internal use only; data cannot be publicly disclosed if it could identify a patient outside the approved rules.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 23, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Public Health Department