The proposed bill amends Arkansas Code Title 20, Chapter 9, Subchapter 1, to allow healthcare providers to maintain medical records in an electronic format. It introduces a new section, 20-9-106, which defines key terms such as "healthcare provider," "medical record," and "patient." The bill grants healthcare providers the discretion to create, maintain, transmit, receive, and store medical records electronically, without the requirement to keep separate tangible copies, provided that the electronic records are legible, retrievable, and backed up adequately.

Additionally, the bill stipulates that a tangible copy of a medical record reproduced from an electronic format will be considered an original for legal purposes. It mandates that upon request, healthcare providers must provide copies of medical records in either tangible or electronic form, and that auditors from health benefit plans or third-party entities must accept electronic versions of medical records during audits. The bill also ensures that these provisions apply to mental health records, while remaining compliant with applicable federal laws regarding the security and confidentiality of personal health information.