Chapter 395
2012 -- H 7559 SUBSTITUTE A AS
AMENDED
Enacted 06/21/12
A N A C T
RELATING TO
COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE--PROCEDURE GENERALLY --
EVIDENCE
Introduced By: Representatives Tarro, Serpa, and Dickinson
Date Introduced: February 15, 2012
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 9-19-27 of the General Laws in Chapter
9-19 entitled "Evidence" is
hereby amended to read as follows:
9-19-27. Evidence
of charges for medical and hospital services and for prescriptions
and orthopedic appliances -- Evidence required from
hospital medical records. – (a) This
section is enacted primarily to relieve physicians and the
other medical professionals defined
herein who are associated with hospitals and other health
care facilities from the hardship and
inconvenience of attending court as witnesses, therefore in
interpreting this section and the
medical records exception to the hearsay rules of evidence in
court or other related proceedings,
the trial courts of this state shall liberally construe
this section to admit what is presumptively
reliable medical evidence presented by way of this statutory
process without the necessity of
calling numerous medical personnel as witnesses.
(b) In any
proceeding commenced in any court, commission, or agency, an itemized bill
and reports, whether originating within this state or any
other state, including hospital or health
care facility,
medical records, relating to medical, dental, hospital services, prescriptions,
or
orthopedic appliances rendered to or prescribed for a person
injured, and/or any report of any
examination of the injured person, including, but not limited to,
hospital medical records and
written statements made by the physician or dentist whether
contemporaneous with the treatment
or not,
subscribed and sworn to under the penalties of perjury by the physician,
dentist, or
authorized agent of the hospital or health care facility
rendering the services or by the pharmacist
or retailer of orthopedic appliances, shall be
admissible as evidence of the fair and reasonable
charge for the services and/or the necessity of the services
or treatment, the diagnosis of the
physician or dentist, the prognosis of the physician or
dentist; the opinion of the physician or
dentist as to proximate cause of the condition so diagnosed,
and the opinion of the physician or
dentist as to disability, or incapacity or
permanency, if any, proximately resulting from the
condition so diagnosed; and, provided. Such affidavit
may incorporate by reference such other
records or written statements as are relied upon by the
affiant in reaching the opinions set forth in
the affidavit, if of a type reasonably and customarily
relied upon by such providers, and which
shall thereby provide the necessary foundation for the
record relied upon to be independently
introduced as an exhibit in accordance with the terms herein.
The authorized agent
of the hospital or health care facility shall be deemed the proper
agent to subscribe and swear to said written statements
contained in its medical records as the
authorized agent for physicians employed by said hospital or
clinic, and rendering treatment to
the patient during the course of his or her employment.
Said records shall not be deemed
inadmissible because the physician so employed by the hospital or
health care facility has not
subscribed to the affidavit.
Provided,
further, that written notice of the intention to offer the bill or report as
such
evidence, together with a copy thereof, has been given to the
opposing party or parties, or to his
or her or their attorneys, by mailing the notice by
certified mail, return receipt requested, not less
than ten (10) days before the introduction of the bill or
report into evidence, and that an affidavit
of the notice and the return receipt is filed with the
clerk of the court forthwith after the receipt
has been returned. Nothing contained in this section
shall be construed to limit the right of any
party to the action to summon or depose, at his or her own
expense, the physician, dentist,
pharmacist, retailer of orthopedic appliances, or agent of the
hospital for the purpose of cross
examination with respect to the bill, record, and report or to
rebut the contents thereof, or for any
other purpose, nor to limit the right of any party to the
action to summon or depose any other
person to testify in respect to the bill, record, and/or
report or for any other purpose.
The adverse party
shall be entitled at the expense of the proponent of the affidavit to a
reasonable opportunity for cross-examination, not to exceed one
hour at the office of the
physician or other expert witness. Additional time for
cross-examination shall be at the adverse
party’s expense. The expert witness fee provided by the
proponent of the expert and the
additional fee, if required on the part of the adverse party,
may be included in the costs of the case
payable to the prevailing party. The time and method of the
payment or taxing of such costs shall
be subject to the order of the trial court.
(c)(b)
The words "physician", and "dentist" shall not include any
person who is not
licensed to practice as such under the laws of the
jurisdiction within which the services were
rendered, but shall include chiropodists, chiropractors,
optometrists, osteopaths, physical
therapists, psychologists, and other medical paramedics
or rescue or emergency medical service
personnel or ambulating services and other medical, mental
health care or social work personnel
licensed to practice under title 5 or under the laws of the
jurisdiction within which the services
were rendered; provided, that said chiropodists,
chiropractors, optometrists, osteopaths, physical
therapists, psychologists, and other medical, mental health
care, or social work personnel
subscribes to said statements designating his or her licensure,
and specifying his or her authority
to subscribe in said capacity.
(d)(c)
The word "hospital" shall mean any hospital required to incorporate
under title 7,
or which is in any way licensed or regulated by the laws
of any other state, or by the laws and
regulations of the
institutions, whether incorporated or not.
(e) The words “health
care facility” includes those entities referred to in subdivision 23-
17-2(6) except to the extent that paramedic or rescue
or emergency medical service personnel or
ambulatory service are excluded.
(f)(d)
Any party objecting to the admitting into evidence of the affidavit shall file
an
objection specifying the grounds thereof within ten (10) days
of receipt of the affidavit, or said
objections are waived.
(g)
Consistent with federal and state constitutional and statutory guarantees
nothing in
this section shall be construed so as to limit the right
of a defendant in a criminal case to confront
and cross examine witnesses.
(h) These provisions
shall not apply to claims for personal injury or wrongful death filed
against a licensed physician, hospital, clinic, health
maintenance organization, professional
service corporation providing health care services, dentist,
or dental hygienist based on
professional negligence.
SECTION 2. Chapter 9-19 of the General Laws entitled
"Evidence" is hereby amended
by adding thereto the following section:
9-19-27.2.
Evidence of charges required from hospitals for medical records, hospital
services and for prescriptions and orthopedic appliances -
Applicable to claims against
medical providers. – (a) In any proceeding commenced in any
court, commission, or agency, an
itemized bill and reports, whether originating within this
state or any other state, including
hospital medical records, relating to medical, dental,
hospital services, prescriptions, or
orthopedic appliances rendered to or prescribed for a person
injured, and/or any report of any
examination of the injured person, including, but not limited to,
hospital medical records
subscribed and sworn to under the penalties of perjury by the physician,
dentist, or authorized
agent of the hospital rendering the services or by the
pharmacist or retailer of orthopedic
appliances, shall be admissible as evidence of the fair and
reasonable charge for the services
and/or the necessity of the services or treatment, the
diagnosis of the physician or dentist, the
prognosis of the physician or dentist; the opinion of the
physician or dentist as to proximate cause
of the condition so diagnosed, and the opinion of the
physician or dentist as to disability or
incapacity, if any, proximately resulting from the condition so
diagnosed; and, provided, further,
that written notice of the intention to offer the bill or
report as such evidence, together with a
copy thereof, has been given to the opposing party or
parties, or to his or her or their attorneys, by
mailing the notice by certified mail, return receipt
requested, not less than ten (10) days before the
introduction of the bill or report into evidence, and that an
affidavit of the notice and the return
receipt is filed with the clerk of the court forthwith after
the receipt has been returned. Nothing
contained in this section shall be construed to limit the right
of any party to the action to summon
or depose, at his or her own expense, the physician,
dentist, pharmacist, retailer of orthopedic
appliances, or agent of the hospital for the purpose of cross
examination with respect to the bill,
record, and report or to rebut the contents thereof, or for
any other purpose, nor to limit the right
of any party to the action to summon or depose any other
person to testify in respect to the bill,
record, and/or report or for any other purpose.
(b) The words
"physician", and "dentist" shall not include any person who
is not licensed
to practice as such under the laws of the jurisdiction
within which the services were rendered, but
shall include chiropodists, chiropractors, optometrists,
osteopaths, physical therapists,
psychologists, and other medical personnel licensed to practice
under title 5 or under the laws of
the jurisdiction within which the services were rendered.
(c) The word
"hospital" shall mean any hospital required to incorporate under
title 7, or
which is in any way licensed or regulated by the laws of
any other state, or by the laws and
regulations of the
institutions, whether incorporated or not.
(d) Any party objecting
to the admitting into evidence of the affidavit shall file an
objection specifying the grounds thereof within ten (10) days
of receipt of the affidavit, or said
objections are waived.
(e) These provisions
shall only apply to claims for personal injury or wrongful death filed
against a licensed physician, hospital, clinic, health
maintenance organization, professional
service corporation providing health care services, dentist,
or dental hygienist based on
professional negligence.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC01337/SUB A
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