2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 27 - BEHAVIORAL HEALTH (§§ 27-1-101 — 27-94-107) › BEHAVIORAL HEALTH (§§ 27-50-101 — 27-64.5-102) › Article 50 - BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (§§ 27-50-101 — 27-50-903) › Part 5 - BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ENTITIES (§§ 27-50-501 — 27-50-510) › Section 27-50-510 - Behavioral health entities - consumer information - reporting - release - rules

(1)
Each behavioral health entity licensed, approved, or designated pursuant to this part 5 shall report to the BHA all of the following occurrences:
(a)
Any occurrence that results in the death of a patient or resident of the facility and is required to be reported to the coroner pursuant to section
30-10-606
, as arising from an unexplained cause or under suspicious circumstances;
(b)
Any occurrence that results in any of the following serious injuries to a patient or resident:
(I)
Brain or spinal cord injuries;
(II)
Life-threatening complications of anesthesia or life-threatening transfusion errors or reactions; or
(III)
Second- or third-degree burns involving twenty percent or more of the body surface area of an adult patient or resident or fifteen percent or more of the body surface area of a child patient or resident;
(c)
Any occurrence when a patient or resident of the facility cannot be located following a search of the facility, the facility grounds, and the area surrounding the facility, and:
(I)
There are circumstances that place the patient's or resident's health, safety, or welfare at risk; or
(II)
The patient or resident has been missing for eight hours;
(d)
Any occurrence involving physical, sexual, or verbal abuse of a patient or resident, as described in section
18-3-202
,
18-3-203
,
18-3-204
,
18-3-206
,
18-3-402
,
18-3-404
, or
18-3-405
, by another patient or resident, an employee of the facility, or a visitor to the facility;
(e)
Any occurrence involving caretaker neglect of a patient or resident, as defined in section
26-3.1-101
(2.3);
(f)
Any occurrence involving misappropriation of a patient's or resident's property. As used in this subsection (1)(f), "misappropriation of a patient's or resident's property" means a pattern of or deliberately misplacing, exploiting, or wrongfully using, either temporarily or permanently, a patient's or resident's belongings or money without the patient's or resident's consent.
(g)
Any occurrence in which drugs intended for use by patients or residents are diverted to use by other persons. If the diverted drugs are injectable, the behavioral health entity shall also report the full name and date of birth of any individual who diverted the injectable drugs, if known.
(h)
Any occurrence involving the malfunction or intentional or accidental misuse of patient or resident care equipment that occurs during treatment or diagnosis of a patient or resident and that significantly adversely affects or, if not averted, would have significantly adversely affected a patient or resident of the facility.
(2)
The state board of human services shall promulgate rules specifying the manner, time period, and form in which the reports required pursuant to subsection (1) of this section must be made.
(3)
Any report submitted pursuant to subsection (1) of this section is strictly confidential; except that information in any such report may be transmitted to an appropriate regulatory agency having jurisdiction for disciplinary or license sanctions. The information in such reports shall not be made public upon subpoena, search warrant, discovery proceedings, or otherwise, except as provided in subsection (5) of this section.
(4)
The BHA shall investigate each report submitted pursuant to subsection (1) of this section that the BHA determines was appropriately submitted. For each report investigated, the BHA shall prepare a summary of its findings, including the BHA's conclusions and whether there was a violation of licensing or approval standards or a deficiency and whether the facility acted appropriately in response to the occurrence. If the investigation is not conducted on site, the BHA shall specify in the summary how the investigation was conducted. Any investigation conducted pursuant to this subsection (4) is in addition to and not in lieu of any inspection required to be conducted pursuant to section
27-50-503 (2)
with regard to licensing.
(5)
(a)
The BHA shall make the following information available to the public:
(I)
Any investigation summaries prepared pursuant to subsection (4) of this section;
(II)
Any complaints against a behavioral health entity that have been filed with the BHA and that the BHA has investigated, including the conclusions reached by the BHA and whether there was a violation of licensing or approval standards or a deficiency and whether the facility acted appropriately in response to the subject of the complaint; and
(III)
A listing of any deficiency citations issued against each behavioral health entity.
(b)
The information released pursuant to this subsection (5) shall not identify the patient or resident or the health-care professional involved in the report.
(6)
Prior to the completion of an investigation pursuant to this section, the BHA may respond to any inquiry regarding a report received pursuant to subsection (1) of this section by confirming that it has received such report and that an investigation is pending.
(7)
In addition to the report to the BHA for an occurrence described in subsection (1)(d) of this section, the occurrence must be reported to a law enforcement agency.
Added by 2022 Ch. 222, § 1, eff. 7/1/2022.