Session of 1999
         
SENATE BILL No. 302
         
By Committee on Public Health and Welfare
          
2-11
          
  9             AN  ACT concerning the health care data governing board; transferring
10             administration of the cancer registry thereto; amending K.S.A. 1998
11             Supp. 65-1,168, 65-1,169, 65-1,171, 65-1,172, 65-1,173 and 65-6809
12             and repealing the existing sections.
13      
14       Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
15             New Section  1. (a) Except as otherwise provided by law, on the ef-
16       fective date of this act all the powers, duties and functions of the secretary
17       of health and environment in relation to the cancer registry are hereby
18       transferred to and conferred upon the health care data governing board.
19             (b) Except as otherwise provided by law, whenever the secretary of
20       health and environment, or words of like effect, are referred to or des-
21       ignated by a statute, contract or other document in relation to the cancer
22       registry, such reference or designation shall be deemed to apply to the
23       health care data governing board.
24             (c) All orders and directives of the secretary of health and environ-
25       ment which relate to the cancer registry and which were adopted under
26       K.S.A. 65-1,168 et seq., and amendments thereto, in existence immedi-
27       ately prior to the effective date of this act shall continue to be effective
28       and shall be deemed to be the orders or directives of the health care data
29       governing board, until revised, amended, repealed or nullified pursuant
30       to law. All rules and regulations of the secretary of health and environ-
31       ment which relate to the cancer registry and which were adopted under
32       K.S.A. 65-1,168 et seq., and amendments thereto, in existence immedi-
33       ately prior to the effective date of this act shall continue to be effective
34       and shall be deemed to be the rules and regulations of the health care
35       data governing board, until revised, amended, repealed or nullified pur-
36       suant to law.
37             (d) The governing board shall succeed to all records which were used
38       for or pertain to the performance of the powers, duties and functions
39       transferred to the board pursuant to subsection (a). Any conflict as to the
40       proper disposition of records arising under this section shall be resolved
41       by the governor, whose decision shall be final.
42             (e) The governing board shall succeed to the unexpended balance of
43       any money relating to the powers, duties and functions transferred to the

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  1       board pursuant to subsection (a). Any conflict as to the proper disposition
  2       of such money shall be resolved by the governor, whose decision shall be
  3       final.
  4             Sec.  2. K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 65-1,168 is hereby amended to read as
  5       follows: 65-1,168. As used in this act:
  6             (a) "Confidential data" means any data which permits the identifi-
  7       cation of individuals.
  8             (b) "Health care provider" means a person licensed to practice med-
  9       icine and surgery, a hospital as defined in K.S.A. 65-425 and amendments
10       thereto, any individual providing health care services or a pathology
11       laboratory.
12             (c) "Secretary" means the secretary of the department of health and
13       environment. "Governing board" means the health care data governing
14       board created under K.S.A. 65-6803 and amendments thereto.
15             Sec.  3. K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 65-1,169 is hereby amended to read as
16       follows: 65-1,169. (a) The secretary governing board is hereby authorized
17       to collect data pertaining to all cancers occurring in Kansas into a registry
18       which shall be the cancer registry for the state of Kansas. The secretary
19       governing board shall adopt rules and regulations which use the most
20       efficient, least intrusive means for collecting cancer data consistent with
21       ensuring the quality, timeliness, completeness and confidentiality of the
22       cancer registry. The rules and regulations shall specify who shall report,
23       the data elements to be reported, timeliness of reporting and format for
24       collecting and transmitting data to the registry.
25             (b) Reporting by persons licensed to practice medicine or surgery and
26       other individuals providing health care services shall be limited to re-
27       sponding to requests for information regarding persons with cancer pre-
28       viously identified by other means.
29             Sec.  4. K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 65-1,171 is hereby amended to read as
30       follows: 65-1,171. The information contained on the cancer registry shall
31       be confidential, shall not be disclosed except as provided in K.S.A. 1998
32       Supp. 65-1,172 and amendments thereto, shall not be subject to sub-
33       poena, discovery or introduction into evidence in any civil or criminal
34       proceeding and shall not be subject to the provisions of the Kansas open
35       records act. The secretary governing board shall ensure that the confi-
36       dentiality of any data collected which might be used to identify an indi-
37       vidual with cancer or a health care provider is maintained. Storage of
38       cancer data shall be in a manner which will protect all information which
39       uniquely identifies individuals.
40             Sec.  5. K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 65-1,172 is hereby amended to read as
41       follows: 65-1,172. Confidential data collected pursuant to this act shall be
42       securely locked and used only for the following purposes:
43             (a) Ensuring the quality and completeness of the registry data.

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  1             (b) Investigating the nature and cause of abnormal clusterings of can-
  2       cer and the possible cancer risk related to having an abortion.
  3             (c) Offering through the personal physician, to persons with cancer,
  4       access to cancer diagnostics and treatments not available except through
  5       clinical trials. As long as such trials are conducted with the informed,
  6       written consent of the cancer patient, the confidential data is approved
  7       for release by the secretary governing board for the purpose of such
  8       clinical trials and the clinical trials are approved by the clinical entity.
  9             (d) Releasing data back to the institution or individual which reported
10       cases as long as such release includes only those cases previously reported
11       by the requesting institution or individual.
12             (e) As part of an exchange agreement with another state, confidential
13       data collected on a resident of another state may be released to the cancer
14       registry of that person's state of residence if that state has confidentiality
15       requirements that provide assurance of protection of confidentiality
16       equivalent to that provided by Kansas under this act.
17             (f) Releasing information upon consent, in writing, of the person who
18       is the subject of the information, or if such person is under 18 years of
19       age, by such person's parent or guardian.
20             Sec.  6. K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 65-1,173 is hereby amended to read as
21       follows: 65-1,173. The secretary governing board shall designate a panel,
22       including at least one physician licensed to practice medicine in Kansas
23       and the registry director, which shall establish policies for release of non-
24       confidential data and shall review requests for the confidential registry
25       data. No restrictions are placed on release of data which are statistical in
26       nature.
27             Sec.  7. K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 65-6809 is hereby amended to read as
28       follows: 65-6809. (a) There is hereby established in the state treasury the
29       health care database fee fund. The secretary of health and environment
30       shall remit at least monthly to the state treasurer all moneys collected or
31       received by the secretary from the following sources:
32             (1) Fees collected under K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 65-6804 and amend-
33       ments thereto;
34             (2) moneys received by the secretary in the form of gifts, donations
35       or grants;
36             (3) interest attributable to investment of moneys in the fund; and
37             (4) any other moneys provided by law.
38             Upon receipt thereof, the state treasurer shall deposit in the state treas-
39       ury any amount remitted pursuant to this subsection and shall credit the
40       entire amount to the health care database fee fund.
41             (b) Moneys deposited in the health care database fee fund shall be
42       expended to supplement maintenance costs of the database, supplement
43       maintenance costs of the cancer registry, provide technical assistance and

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  1       training in the proper use of health care data and provide funding for
  2       dissemination of information from the database to the public and from
  3       the cancer registry to the public. If the performance audit required by
  4       K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 65-6808 and amendments thereto is conducted under
  5       contract with a firm, as defined by K.S.A. 46-1112 and amendments
  6       thereto, the contract cost of that performance audit may be paid from
  7       the health care database fee fund.
  8             (c) On or before the 10th of each month, the director of accounts
  9       and reports shall transfer from the state general fund to the health care
10       database fee fund interest earnings based on:
11             (1) The average daily balance of moneys in the health care database
12       fee fund for the preceding month; and
13             (2) the net earnings rate of the pooled money investment portfolio
14       for the preceding month.
15             (d) All expenditures from the health care database fee fund shall be
16       made in accordance with appropriation acts upon warrants of the director
17       of accounts and reports issued pursuant to vouchers approved by the
18       secretary of health and environment for the purposes set forth in this
19       section. 
20       Sec.  8. K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 65-1,168, 65-1,169, 65-1,171, 65-1,172,
21       65-1,173 and 65-6809 are hereby repealed.
22        Sec.  9. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
23       publication in the statute book.