Minn. Stat. » CHAPTER 144. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Minnesota Statutes

Minn. Stat. § 144.291 (2026)

Minnesota Health Records Act

✓ current as of May 2026
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Subdivision 1.Short title.

Sections 144.291 to 144.298 may be cited as the "Minnesota Health Records Act."

Subd. 2.Definitions.

For the purposes of sections 144.291 to 144.298, the following terms have the meanings given.

(a) "Group purchaser" has the meaning given in section 62J.03, subdivision 6.

(b) "Health information exchange" means a legal arrangement between health care providers and group purchasers to enable and oversee the business and legal issues involved in the electronic exchange of health records between the entities for the delivery of patient care.

(c) "Health record" means any information, whether oral or recorded in any form or medium, that relates to the past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition of a patient; the provision of health care to a patient; or the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to a patient.

(d) "Identifying information" means the patient's name, address, date of birth, gender, parent's or guardian's name regardless of the age of the patient, and other nonclinical data which can be used to uniquely identify a patient.

(e) "Individually identifiable form" means a form in which the patient is or can be identified as the subject of the health records.

(f) "Medical emergency" means medically necessary care which is immediately needed to preserve life, prevent serious impairment to bodily functions, organs, or parts, or prevent placing the physical or mental health of the patient in serious jeopardy.

(g) "Patient" means a natural person who has received health care services from a provider for treatment or examination of a medical, psychiatric, or mental condition, the surviving spouse and parents of a deceased patient, or a person the patient appoints in writing as a representative, including a health care agent acting according to chapter 145C, unless the authority of the agent has been limited by the principal in the principal's health care directive. Except for minors who have received health care services under sections 144.341 to 144.347, in the case of a minor, patient includes a parent or guardian, or a person acting as a parent or guardian in the absence of a parent or guardian.

(h) "Patient information service" means a service providing the following query options: a record locator service as defined in paragraph (j) or a master patient index or clinical data repository as defined in section 62J.498, subdivision 1.

(i) "Provider" means:

(1) any person who furnishes health care services and is regulated to furnish the services under chapter 147, 147A, 147B, 147C, 147D, 148, 148B, 148E, 148F, 150A, 151, 153, or 153A;

(2) a home care provider licensed under section 144A.471;

(3) a health care facility licensed under this chapter or chapter 144A; and

(4) an assisted living facility licensed under chapter 144G.

(j) "Record locator service" means an electronic index of patient identifying information that directs providers in a health information exchange to the location of patient health records held by providers and group purchasers.

(k) "Related health care entity" means an affiliate, as defined in section 144.6521, subdivision 3, paragraph (b), of the provider releasing the health records.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 19 cases (11 in the last 5 years), 2014–2025 · leading case: Jacky L. Larson v. The Nw. Mut. Life Ins. Co., CMInformation Specialists, Inc., 855 N.W.2d 293 (Minn. 2014).
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Jacky L. Larson v. The Nw. Mut. Life Ins. Co., CMInformation Specialists, Inc., 855 N.W.2d 293 (Minn. 2014). “2, provides, in relevant part: A person who does any of the following is liable to the patient for compensatory damages caused by an unauthorized release or an intentional, unauthorized access, plus costs and reasonable attorney fees: (1) negligently or intentionally requests or…”
Jerry Expose, Jr. v. Thad Wilderson & Assocs., P. A., Nina Mattson, 863 N.W.2d 95 (Minn. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 4× “” Minn.Stat. § 144.291, subd. 2(c) (2014). Thus, Mattson and the clinic were under a general obligation to not release any information concerning Expose’s counseling, either orally or in documentary form.”
William Findling v. Grp. Health Plan, Inc., d/b/a Health Partners & Regions Hosp., ... (Minn. 2023). · cites it 62× “Laws 1804, 2098–2106 (codified as amended at Minn. Stat. §§ 144.291–.298 (2022)). C/D-1 Larson and years of precedent narrowly interpreting the private attorney general statute, and from which I dissent.”
State v. Atwood, 925 N.W.2d 626 (Minn. 2019). · cites it 2× “, Minnesota Health Records Act, Minn. Stat. §§ 144.291 -.34 (2018); see also Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, 42 U.”
Linda Volk v. Ace Am. Ins. Co., 748 F.3d 827 (8th Cir. 2014). “, Minn.Stat. §§ 144.291(2)(g), 144.651(2), 148A.”
Jerry Expose, Jr. v. Thad Wilderson & Assocs., P.A., Nina Mattson, 889 N.W.2d 279 (Minn. 2016). · cites it 2× “” Minn.Stat. § 144.291, subd. 2(c). The Client Rights and Responsibilities form that Expose signed lists six “responsibilities” that are expected of patients, such as the responsibility to keep scheduled appointments, to actively participate in counseling sessions, and to inform…”
Jerry Expose, Jr. v. Thad Wilderson & Assocs., P.A., Nina Mattson (Minn. 2017). · cites it 7× “Because the record does not establish that the patient consented to the disclosure of information about his treatment, the district court erred in dismissing a claim that alleged an intern-therapist's disclosure of that information violated the Minnesota Health Records Act,…”
Peter Gerard Lonergan, John Joseph Kotowski v. Dakota Cnty. Soc. Servs., ... (Minn. Ct. App. 2024). · cites it 6× “90 (2022) and the Minnesota Health Records Act (MHRA), Minn. Stat. §§ 144.291 -.298 (2022). Appellants sought compensatory and exemplary damages of more than $50,000, as well as interest, costs, and reasonable fees, future damages, and injunctive relief to retrieve and restore…”
In re: Grp. Health Plan Litig. (D. Minnesota 2023). · cites it 4× “Plaintiffs assert nine causes of action: (1) Violation of the Minnesota Health Records Act ( Minn. Stat. § 144.291 , et seq.); (2) Invasion of Privacy; (3) Breach of Implied Contract; (4) Unjust Enrichment; (5) Breach of Fiduciary Duty; (6) Breach of Confidence; (7) Negligence;…”
Anthony Patrick Huber v. Jason R. Vohnoutka, Darlene Heimerl (Minn. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 6× “Use of False Pretenses We turn to Huber’s main argument, and Vohnoutka’s first counterargument, which concerns the question whether Vohnoutka “obtain[ed] .”
Furzland v. Baumli (D. Minnesota 2022). · cites it 2× “99 (2022), and the Minnesota Health Records Act, Minn. Stat. §§ 144.291 -.298 (2022)[.]” ECF No.”
Mekhail v. North Mem'l Health Care (D. Minnesota 2024). · cites it 2× “” Minn. Stat. § 144.291 , subd. 2(c). The MHRA “imposes liability on a person who negligently or intentionally releases a health record in violation of [the statute’s] guidelines.”
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— Minn. Stat. § 144.291(2)(g) — 1 case
Linda Volk v. Ace Am. Ins. Co., 748 F.3d 827 (8th Cir. 2014). “, Minn.Stat. §§ 144.291(2)(g), 144.651(2), 148A.”
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