Pa. House advances bill requiring imaging firms to tell patients about problems

Diagnostic imaging firms that provide services on an outpatient basis in Pennsylvania would have to directly notify the patients or their designees of any significant abnormalities under a bill approved by the state House of Representatives.

The House voted 196-to-1 to give the bill final approval Monday. It now moves to the Senate.

The bill would require notification at the time of service or within 20 days after the results were mailed to the health-care provider.

The sponsor, Rep. Marguerite Quinn, said she knows of two people who might still be alive if the bill were in effect. The Bucks County Republican said medical test results belong to the patient.

Rep. Greg Vitali, D-Delaware, said the Pennsylvania Radiological Society opposes the measure, citing concern that it could interfere with the doctor-patient relationship.