Section 31-33-8. Electronic records; application to psychiatric, psychological, or other mental health records

   (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the contrary, any provider may, in its sole discretion, create, maintain, transmit, receive, and store records in an electronic format within the meaning of Code Section 10-12-2 and may, in its sole discretion, temporarily or permanently convert records into an electronic format.

(b) A provider shall not be required to maintain separate tangible copies of electronically stored records.

(c) The other provisions of this chapter shall apply to electronic records to the same extent as those provisions apply to tangible records.

(d) This Code section is subject to all applicable federal laws governing the security and confidentiality of a patient's personal health information.

(e) A tangible copy of a record reproduced from an electronically stored record shall be considered an original for purposes of providing copies to patients or other authorized parties and for introduction of the records into evidence in administrative or court proceedings.

(f) Except as provided otherwise under federal law, upon receiving a request for a copy of a record from a patient or an authorized person under Code Section 31-33-3, a provider shall provide copies of the record in either tangible or electronically stored form.

(g) Subsections (a), (b), (d) and (e) of this Code section shall apply to psychiatric, psychological, or other mental health records of a patient.

Code 1981, § 31-33-8, enacted by Ga. L. 2005, p. 618, § 1/SB 204; Ga. L. 2009, p. 698, § 4/HB 126; Ga. L. 2010, p. 286, § 19/SB 244.