HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2787        FILED ON: 1/17/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3497

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Marjorie C. Decker

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to videotaping, audiotaping and photographing persons receiving medical treatment.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2787        FILED ON: 1/17/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3497

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

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An Act relative to videotaping, audiotaping and photographing persons receiving medical treatment.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Section 70E of chapter 111 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the ninth paragraph the following paragraph:-

No patient shall be the subject of a recording, except for purposes of providing medical treatment, unless the patient, an authorized representative of a patient who is an incapacitated person or a parent or guardian of a patient who is a minor, consents to the recording; provided, however, that such consent may be revoked at any time prior to recording. No person who produces a recording of a patient who died while receiving treatment or any person who acquires the recording thereafter shall expose the recording to the public without first notifying and receiving consent from the patient’s next of kin. For purposes of this paragraph, “authorized representative”, shall mean: (i) an agent to whom authority to make health care decisions on behalf of a person is delegated under a health care proxy in accordance with the requirements of chapter 201D; or (ii) a guardian appointed pursuant to part 3 of article V of the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code to act on behalf of a person who is incapacitated; provided, however, a guardian appointed pursuant to said part 3 of said article V shall not be considered an authorized representative if an agent has been granted authority to make health care decisions on behalf of the incapacitated person under a valid health care proxy. For purposes of this paragraph, “incapacitated person” shall mean an adult who has a clinically diagnosed condition that results in an inability to receive and evaluate information or make or communicate decisions to such an extent that the individual lacks the ability to meet essential requirements for physical health, safety or self-care, even with appropriate technological assistance. For purposes of this paragraph, “recording” shall mean a videotape, audiotape, photograph, image, film or other digital recording made by a video recorder, audio recorder, camera, computer, telephone or any other device capable of electronic data storage.