{"id":45,"date":"2026-05-14T15:36:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T15:36:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=45"},"modified":"2026-05-14T15:36:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T15:36:26","slug":"alaska-legislators-approve-update-for-law-that-allows-data-sharing-between-hospitals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=45","title":{"rendered":"Alaska legislators approve update for law that allows data sharing between hospitals"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Alaska Legislature has approved a bill that would update the law that governs how hospitals and clinics within the state share patient records and other health information.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Alaska school district considers allowing teachers and staff to carry handguns at work<\/a><\/p>\n

In <\/span>an 18-0 vote<\/span> on Friday, the Alaska Senate approved <\/span>Senate Bill 272<\/span>, sending it to Gov. Mike Dunleavy for enactment or veto. The state House <\/span>approved it 34-6<\/span> on Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Under existing state and federal law, the Alaska Department of Health is allowed to pick a third-party organization to operate a \u201cHealth Information Exchange\u201d that transmits electronic health records from one hospital or clinic to another.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Alaska, the organization is <\/span>HealthEconnect Alaska<\/span>, a nonprofit.<\/span><\/p>\n

If signed into law, SB 272 would clarify the roles of the Department of Health and the organization operating the exchange. People whose records are transmitted through the exchange would be allowed to consent or object to different uses of their data.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more The state of Alaska could spend nearly $200 million on oil exploration, leasing in Arctic refuge<\/a><\/p>\n

Kendra Sticka, executive director of HealthEconnect, testified in March that the new law is needed because when the original information exchange law was written in 2009, state officials weren\u2019t sure how it would work in practice.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so the language in the current statute is somewhat confusing because we didn\u2019t know what it was going to be,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more State prosecutors ask to delay new election misconduct trial for former Alaska legislator<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n

YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n