S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  7280

                       2013-2014 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                               May 9, 2013
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M. of A. WEINSTEIN -- (at request of the Office of Court
  Administration) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes

AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to  waiver
  of privileged confidential information

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision (a) of section 4504 of the civil  practice  law
and  rules, as amended by chapter 555 of the laws of 1993, is amended to
read as follows:
  (a) Confidential information privileged. Unless the patient waives the
privilege, a person authorized to practice medicine, registered  profes-
sional  nursing,  licensed  practical  nursing,  dentistry,  podiatry or
chiropractic shall not be allowed to disclose any information  which  he
OR  SHE  acquired in attending a patient in a professional capacity, and
which was necessary to enable him OR HER to act in  that  capacity.  The
relationship  of  a  physician and patient shall exist between a medical
corporation, as defined in article forty-four of the public health  law,
a  professional  service  corporation organized under article fifteen of
the business corporation law to practice medicine, a university  faculty
practice  corporation organized under section fourteen hundred twelve of
the not-for-profit corporation law to practice  medicine  or  dentistry,
and  the  patients to whom they respectively render professional medical
services.
  FOR THE EXCLUSIVE PURPOSE OF USE IN A CIVIL ACTION, AN OPERATOR  OF  A
MOTOR  VEHICLE  IN THIS STATE SHALL BE DEEMED TO HAVE WAIVED THIS PRIVI-
LEGE IN REGARD TO THE RESULTS OF  ANY  TESTS  ADMINISTERED  FOLLOWING  A
MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT WHICH REVEAL THE ALCOHOL OR DRUG CONTENTS IN SUCH
OPERATOR'S  BODY.  A patient who, for the purpose of obtaining insurance
benefits, authorizes the disclosure of any such privileged communication
to any person shall not be deemed to have waived the  privilege  created
by this subdivision. For purposes of this subdivision:

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD09759-02-3
              

A. 7280                             2

  1.  "person" shall mean any individual, insurer or agent thereof, peer
review committee, public or private corporation, political  subdivision,
government  agency,  department  or  bureau  of the state, municipality,
industry, co-partnership, association, firm, trust, estate or any  other
legal entity whatsoever; and
  2.  "insurance  benefits"  shall include payments under a self-insured
plan.
  S 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
ing  the date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply to any
action commenced on or after such date.