Senate Bill No. 423 amends Section 19 of Title 76 of the Oklahoma Statutes, which governs access to medical records. The bill broadens the definition of who qualifies as a patient to include not only individuals but also their personal representatives. It introduces new provisions regarding the disclosure of medical records for deceased patients, requiring either a court order or a written release from an appointed representative or responsible family member. Additionally, the bill allows health care providers to impose reasonable, cost-based fees for copies of medical records, with specific fee structures outlined for different types of requests, including those from attorneys and insurance companies.

The bill also modifies existing fee limits, increasing the base fee for third-party requests from $20 to $23, and establishes new per-page charges for paper and electronic copies. It eliminates certain duties of health care providers, such as the prohibition against charging fees for searching and retrieving records for individuals requesting their own records. Furthermore, the bill clarifies that psychological and mental health records are subject to different access rules, and it specifies that the provisions do not apply to inmate records if their release poses a security threat. The act is set to take effect on November 1, 2025.