Substitute Senate Bill No. 1508 proposes significant amendments to the regulations governing access to medical records in Connecticut. Notably, the bill replaces the term "authorized representative" with "patient's personal representative" and introduces specific provisions for the handling of retained tissue slides and pathology blocks. Healthcare institutions are now mandated to send original retained slides or blocks directly to a patient's designated healthcare provider upon request, with the option to provide a new section cut if the original is unavailable. The bill also clarifies that patients or their representatives are responsible for the safekeeping and return of these materials, while limiting the liability of institutions for their release.

Additionally, the bill establishes a new tiered fee structure for obtaining medical records, which varies based on the requester. For patients or their personal representatives, fees will be capped according to federal guidelines, while third-party requests will incur specific charges, including search and retrieval fees and per-page costs. The total fees for a single request are capped at $1,500, and the Department of Public Health will adjust these fees annually based on the consumer price index. The legislation aims to enhance patient access to medical records while ensuring compliance with federal standards and generating additional revenue for healthcare institutions, particularly the UConn Health Center, which is projected to see an increase of at least $600,000 annually from these changes.