Law / United States / 
U.S. Virgin Islands
Electronic Health Records Act: duties on the use and disclosure of electronic health records
Electronic Health Records Act, 19 V.I.C. §§ 160-168
In force.
A sensitive categories rule binding public and private bodies.
What it requires
- If you are a provider, health care institution, health information exchange or health care group purchaser, do not use or disclose health care information in an individual's electronic health record to another person in violation of territorial or federal law and without the individual's consent (19 V.I.C. § 165(a)).
- If you are a provider or health care institution requesting information in an individual's electronic health record through a record locator service or health information exchange, warrant that the request is for the treatment of the individual, is permitted by the individual's written authorization or is otherwise permitted by territorial or federal law (19 V.I.C. § 165(f)(1)).
- If you operate a health information exchange that maintains a record locator service, keep an audit log of who obtained access, whose information was obtained, from where, what was obtained and when, and on request give an individual the log about their own information, annually and for a reasonable fee (19 V.I.C. § 165(c) and (d)).
- If you operate a record locator service or health information exchange, give individuals a way to exclude their demographic and record-location information, and remove all of a requesting individual's information within thirty days, except as to a provider or institution that has treated the individual and retains its own records (19 V.I.C. § 165(e)).
- If you are a health care provider, facility or governmental unit keeping electronic health records, keep them in legible and retrievable form with adequate data backup, and preserve any paper consent or authorization to disclose in a durable medium, noting its existence and location in the electronic record (19 V.I.C. § 164(c)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
What this law does
The Electronic Health Records Act provides for the use, disclosure and protection of electronic health records. A provider, health care institution, health information exchange or health care group purchaser may not use or disclose health care information in an individual's electronic health record in violation of territorial or federal law and without the individual's consent.
A health information exchange that maintains a record locator service must keep an audit log of the people who obtain access to it. A person operating a record locator service or health information exchange that receives a request to exclude all of an individual's information must remove that information within thirty days. A health care provider, facility or governmental unit must maintain electronic health records in legible and retrievable form, including adequate data backup.
The legal rights and responsibilities of patients, providers, facilities and governmental units apply to records kept in electronic form to the same extent as to records on paper. The Act does not apply to a person operating as a property and casualty insurer, workers' compensation insurer, life insurer, long-term care insurer or disability income insurer.
A disclosure the Act otherwise permits may be made to providers, health care group purchasers, health care institutions, health information exchanges or record locator services located or operating outside of the territory. The Act was added to the Code by Act No. 7264 on .
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app handles health records or processes personal data.
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