PUB 700512: Private Autopsy Education for Patients and Health Care Surrogates by Harry Scott Boggs

ARTICLE X: MISCELLANEOUS, Section 25. Patients’ right to know about adverse medical incidents.

1. In addition to any other similar rights provided herein or by general law, patients have a right to have access to any records made or received in the course of business by a health care facility or provider relating to any adverse medical incident.
2. In providing such access, the identity of patients involved in the incidents shall not be disclosed, and any privacy restrictions imposed by federal law shall be maintained.
3. For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
   1. The phrases "health care facility" and "health care provider" have the meaning given in general law related to a patient's rights and responsibilities.
   2. The term "patient" means an individual who has sought, is seeking, is undergoing, or has undergone care or treatment in a health care facility or by a health care provider.
   3. The phrase "adverse medical incident" means medical negligence, intentional misconduct, and any other act, neglect, or default of a health care facility or health care provider that caused or could have caused injury to or death of a patient, including, but not limited to, those incidents that are required by state or federal law to be reported to any governmental agency or body, and incidents that are reported to or reviewed by any health care facility peer review, risk management, quality assurance, credentials, or similar committee, or any representative of any such committees.
   4. The phrase "have access to any records" means, in addition to any other procedure for producing such records provided by general law, making the records available for inspection and copying upon formal or informal request by the patient or a representative of the patient, provided that current records which have been made publicly available by publication or on the Internet may be "provided" by reference to the location at which the records are publicly available.
4. All Florida medical and/or mental health consumers shall receive from any or all health service providers written information alerting and informing them of the free market option to choose a private autopsy service after their death at their own expense. The Florida State Department of Health shall assemble known facts of utilizing private autopsy firms and provide consumers a list of the state's private autopsy labratories as well as how to contact the trade association[s] for that industry. This practice of formal and obligatory distribution of private autopsy consumer information shall only be enforced at the times physicians, social workers, clergy, nurses, facility volunteer co-ordinators, attorneys, emergency response agencies, health departments, or other businesses or agencies present to health care clients what is commonly known as Advance Directives or Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment ("The Five Wishes" or any other pre-packaged end-of-life documents). The information must be affixed to the main POLST/A.D. document bundle or securely inserted into POLST/AD binders or folders. Topic sections of an "Autopsy Education" flyer, brochure, or integrated subsection of POLST/AD materials shall include (1) the difference between private and official government autopsy determinations (2) proper handling of a deceased person's death certificate (3) DNA analysis (4) exhumation practice (5) histology and toxicology basics (5) asbestos effects and other industrial toxin indications (6) Alzheimer's and other degenerative and/or disruptive conditions (7) foul play suspicions (8) seeking services and comparing costs (9) industry ethics and state regulation.