April 26, 2012

Ms. Tiffany N. Evans

Assistant City Attorney

City of Houston

P.O. Box 368

Houston, Texas 77001-0368

OR2012-06016

Dear Ms. Evans:

You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under the Public Information Act (the "Act"), chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 451575 (GC No. 19342).

The Houston Fire Department (the "department") received a request for the number of patients transported, information pertaining to the severity of injuries, and dispatch and call data pertaining to a specified motorcycle accident. You claim that some of the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.101 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Gov't Code § 552.101. This exception encompasses information other statutes make confidential, including the Medical Practice Act (the "MPA"), subtitle B of title 3 of the Occupations Code. See Occ. Code § 151.001-165.160. Section 159.002 of the MPA provides, in part:

(b) A record of the identity, diagnosis, evaluation, or treatment of a patient by a physician that is created or maintained by a physician is confidential and privileged and may not be disclosed except as provided by this chapter.

(c) A person who receives information from a confidential communication or record as described by this chapter, other than a person listed in Section 159.004 who is acting on the patient's behalf, may not disclose the information except to the extent that disclosure is consistent with the authorized purposes for which the information was first obtained.

Id. § 159.002(b)-(c). This office has concluded the protection afforded by section 159.002 extends only to records created by either a physician or someone under the supervision of a physician. See Open Records Decision Nos. 487 (1987), 370 (1983), 343 (1982). Upon review, we find none of the information at issue consists of records created by either a physician or someone under the supervision of a physician. Accordingly, the MPA is not applicable, and the department may not withhold any of the submitted information on that basis.

Section 552.101 of the Government Code also encompasses section 773.091 of the Health and Safety Code. Section 773.091 provides in part:

(b) Records of the identity, evaluation, or treatment of a patient by emergency medical services personnel or by a physician providing medical supervision that are created by the emergency medical services personnel or physician or maintained by an emergency medical services provider are confidential and privileged and may not be disclosed except as provided by this chapter.

. . .

(g) The privilege of confidentiality under this section does not extend to information regarding the presence, nature of injury or illness, age, sex, occupation, and city of residence of a patient who is receiving emergency medical services.

Health & Safety Code § 773.091(b), (g). Except for the information specified in section 773.091(g), emergency medical services ("EMS") records are deemed confidential and may be released only in accordance with chapter 773 of the Health & Safety Code. See id. §§ 773.091, .094. Upon review, we find the information we have marked consists of an EMS record subject to section 773.091(b). Thus, with the exception of information subject to section 773.091(g), which is not confidential and must be released, the department must withhold the EMS record we have marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 773.091(b) of the Health and Safety Code. As no further exceptions to disclosure are raised, the remaining information must be released.

This letter ruling is limited to the particular information at issue in this request and limited to the facts as presented to us; therefore, this ruling must not be relied upon as a previous determination regarding any other information or any other circumstances.

This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the governmental body and of the requestor. For more information concerning those rights and responsibilities, please visit our website at http://www.oag.state.tx.us/open/index_orl.php, or call the Office of the Attorney General's Open Government Hotline, toll free, at (877) 673-6839. Questions concerning the allowable charges for providing public information under the Act must be directed to the Cost Rules Administrator of the Office of the Attorney General, toll free, at (888) 672-6787.

Sincerely,

Sarah Casterline

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

SEC/som

Ref: ID# 451575

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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