Except for the treatment of drug or alcohol problems, regulations concerning patient access to records depend on the type of setting in which the treatment took place. The Mental Health Procedures Act of 1976 applies to all involuntary and inpatient treatment and to publicly funded licensed outpatient mental health centers. Patients may also submit rebuttal information. When patients have been denied access to portions of their records, the records must contain the basis for the denial of access. These regulations, however, do not apply to facilities that treat only patients with mental illnesses or chemical dependence, and excludes the offices of private practitioners.
DOH regulations permit limited patient access to their hospital records.
As outlined above, the rules and regulations surrounding access to drug and alcohol records apply to all treatment settings, including private practice situations. In Pennsylvania, however, there currently are no specific statutes nor guidelines involving access to non-drug or alcohol records in private psychological settings. As already noted, patients' requests to view their records often represent other clinical questions and concerns. For this reason, many information requests can be handled within the context of the therapeutic relationship, with or without the actual dissemination of the records. In some instances, however, a patient absolutely will demand a copy of his or her record.