An Act To Permit Mental Health Professionals To Disclose Risks to People Likely To Be Harmed by a Patient
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 1119
Committee: judiciary
Sponsors: MILLS, NUTTING
Amends: 34-B MRSA §1207

Legislative Document 
No. 1119 
S.P.371 
March 6, 2007 
An Act To Permit Mental Health Professionals To Disclose Risks to 
People Likely To Be Harmed by a Patient 
Reference to the Committee on judiciary suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Senator MILLS of Somerset. 
Cosponsored by Senator: NUTTING of Androscoggin. 
Printed on recycled paper 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 34-B MRSA §1207, sub-§5, as amended by PL 1995, c. 560, Pt. K, §19, 
is further amended to read: 
5. Permitted disclosure. Notwithstanding subsections 1 to 4, a licensed mental 
health professional providing care ana treatment to an aault f! client may provide 
information authorizea b~' this subsection to a famil~' member or other person i+--the 
family member or other person who lives with or provides direct care to the client,-tf 
'Nithout the aisclosure there woula be significant aeterioration in the client's aaily 
fHnctioning and if the disclosure is in the best interest of the client and is required for the 
client's effective care. A licensed mental health professional may disclose information 
about the mental or medical status of a client to those who may be affected by the client's 
conduct to the extent that such information is reasonably necessary to protect any person 
from risk of harm. 
A. 
Disclosure may be maae only at the "/ritten request of the family member or 
other person living ",>'ith the client. 
B. 
Prior to the aisclosure, the client must be informea in ' .. ,,'riting of the request, the 
name of the person requesting the information, the reason for the request and the 
specific information being provided. Information may not be diseiosed unless the 
client, having receivea '",ritten notice of the request, consents to the disclosure. If the 
client does not consent to the disclosure, the person requesting the information may 
appeal to the aepartment for authorization to aisclose the information over the 
objections of the client. 
C. 
Disclosures are limited to information regaraing aiagnosis, admission to or 
discharge from a treatment facili~', the name of an~' medication prescribed, side 
effects of that meaication, the likely consequences of failure of the client to take the 
prescribea meaication, treatment plans and goals and behli't'ioral management 
strategies. 
D. 
By September 1, 1994, the aepartment shall aaopt rules to implement this 
subsection. The rules must include, but are not limited to, an appeal process for 
persons ''''ho are denied access to information under paragraph B. The appeal process 
must determine ",<,hether the person requesting information is a person who liYes with 
or proviaes direct care to a client, whether disclosure of the information is in the best 
interest of the client and ,,,,'hether denial of access to the information will result in 
sigaificant aeterioration in the client's daily fHnctioning. The commissioner shall 
appoiat an ad'liso~' committee pursuant to Title 5, section 12002, subsection 1, 
paragraph A to assist the department in the development of the rules. The members 
of the aa'/isory committee are Hot eatitled to reimbursemeat for eKpeases or 
legislative per aiem. The adviso~' committee must iaeiuae, but is not Iimitea to, 
proportioaate represeatatioa from each of the followiag: 
(I) Consumers nominated by the Director of the Office of Ad,'ocac)' ana 
Consumer Affairs; 
(2) Members of the statewide alliance for the mentall)' ill; 
(3) MeRtal healtl'l serviee pre¥iaers; afla 
(4) The proteetioR aRa aayoeaey ageRey aesigRated pursuaRt te Title 5, seetieR 
~ 
Sec. 2. 34-B MRS A §1207, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 422, §2, IS 
amended to read: 
6. Duty to provide information. Any person conducting an evaluation of a mental 
health client in a professional capacity, who has a elear aRd suestaAtial reason to believe 
that the mental health client poses aR immiReRt ~ danger of inflicting serieus physieal 
harm on the evaluator or others, shall provide information regarding such danger or harm 
to any other person to whom that client's care or custody is being transferred. 
For 
purposes of this subsection, the term "evaluation" includes professionally recognized 
methods and procedures for the purpose of assessing and treating mental illness and 
includes, but is not limited to, interviews, observation, testing and assessment techniques 
conducted by a person licensed as a physician, psychologist, nurse, clinical social worker 
or clinical professional counselor. 
SUMMARY 
This bill addresses conflicting confidentiality and reporting requirements imposed on 
mental health professionals who know or have reason to know that a client poses a danger 
of inflicting harm on a person. 
This bill provides that a licensed mental health 
professional may disclose information about the mental or medical status of a client to 
those who may be affected by the client's conduct to the extent that such information is 
reasonably necessary to protect any person from risk of harm. It also provides that the 
mental health professional is required to provide information about the danger to persons 
who have the responsibility of the care and custody of the client.