Veterans' Privacy Act

Veterans' Privacy Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to prescribe regulations to ensure that any visual recording made of a patient during the course of furnishing care through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is carried out only with the full and informed consent of that patient or, in appropriate cases, a representative thereof.

Allows the Secretary to waive such requirement if the recording is made: (1) upon a determination by a physician or psychologist that the recording is medically necessary, (2) pursuant to a warrant or order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or (3) in a public setting where a person would not have a reasonable expectation to privacy (such as a waiting room or hallway) and the recording is for general security purposes not particularized to the patient.

[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1490 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1490

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit the recording of a 
patient in a facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs without the 
                    informed consent of the patient.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 11, 2013

Mr. Miller of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                 to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit the recording of a 
patient in a facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs without the 
                    informed consent of the patient.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans' Privacy Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF VISUAL RECORDING WITHOUT INFORMED CONSENT.

    Section 7331 of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``The Secretary, upon'' and inserting ``(a) 
        In General.--The Secretary, upon''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(b) Visual Recording.--(1) The Secretary shall prescribe 
regulations establishing procedures to ensure that, except as provided 
by paragraph (2), any visual recording made by the Secretary of a 
patient during the course of furnishing care under this title is 
carried out only with the full and informed consent of the patient or, 
in appropriate cases, a representative thereof.
    ``(2) The Secretary may waive the requirement for informed consent 
under paragraph (1) with respect to the visual recording of a patient 
if such recording is made--
            ``(A) pursuant to a determination by a physician or 
        psychologist that such recording is medically necessary;
            ``(B) pursuant to a warrant or order of a court of 
        competent jurisdiction; or
            ``(C) in a public setting where a person would not have a 
        reasonable expectation to privacy, such as a waiting room or 
        hallway, and such recording is for general security purposes 
        not particularized to the patient.
    ``(3) In this subsection, the term `visual recording' means the 
recording or transmission of images or video.''.
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