Medical Privacy Initiative

COLORADO REVISED STATUTE 18-4-412

18-4-412 - Theft of medical records or medical information - penalty.

(1) Any person who, without proper authorization, knowingly obtains a medical record or medical information with the intent to appropriate the medical record or medical information to his own use or to the use of another, who steals or discloses to an unauthorized person a medical record or medical information, or who, without authority, makes or causes to be made a copy of a medical record or medical information commits theft of a medical record or medical information. (2) As used in this section:

(a) "Medical record" means the written or graphic
documentation, sound recording, or computer record of services pertaining to medical and health care which are performed at the direction of a physician or other licensed health care provider on behalf of a patient by physicians, dentists, nurses, technicians, emergency medical technicians, prehospital providers, or other health care personnel. "Medical
record" includes such diagnostic documentation as X rays, electrocardiograms, electroencephalograms, and other test results.

(b) "Medical information" means any information contained in the medical record or any information pertaining to the medical
and health care services performed at the direction of a physician or other licensed health care provider which is protected by the
physician-patient privilege established by section 13-90-107 (1) (d), C.R.S.

(c) "Proper authorization" means:

(I) A written authorization signed by the patient or his
or her duly designated representative; or

(II) An appropriate order of court; or

(III) Authorized possession pursuant to law or
regulation for claims processing, possession for medical audit or quality assurance purposes, possession by a consulting physician to the patient, or
possession by hospital personnel for record-keeping and billing purposes; or

(IV) Authorized possession pursuant to section 18-7-201.5, 18-7-205.5, or 18-3-415.5.

(d) "Copy" means any facsimile, replica, photograph, sound recording, magnetic or electronic recording, or other reproduction of a medical record and any note, drawing, or sketch made of or from a medical record.

(3) Theft of a medical record or medical information is a class 6 felony.

(4) The obtaining, accessing, use, or disclosure of relevant medical records or medical information pursuant to 18 U.S.C. sec. 922 (t) and section 24-33.5-424, C.R.S., by the Colorado bureau of investigation or by any of its employees and accessing such records and information through the NICS system shall not constitute theft of a medical record or medical information under this section.

effective July 1. L. 89: (3) amended, p. 834, § 47, effective July 1. L. 99:
(2)(c) amended, p. 1003, § 11, effective May 29. L. 2000: (4) added, p.
12, § 4, effective March 7; (2)(a) amended, p. 545, § 22, effective
July 1. Cross references: For the legislative declaration contained in the 2000 act enacting subsection (4), see section 1 of chapter 5, Session Laws of Colorado 2000.
Law reviews. For article, "The Authorization to Release
Medical Information Form: Its Genesis and Usage", see 11 Colo. Law. 1179 (1982). For article, "The Legal Risks of AIDS: Moving Beyond Discrimination" , see 18 Colo. Law. 606 (1989).

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