Section 2997 - Patient privacy1. The department shall examine state laws protecting the privacy of individual patient data, and determine the necessity of supplementing existing protections.2. The department shall examine federal initiatives protecting the privacy of individual patient data, and such federal initiatives' potential preemptive effect on state law protections.3. The department shall provide a report of its findings to the governor and the legislature within eighteen months of the effective date of this section.N.Y. Pub. Health Law § 2997