Pennsylvania Code › Title 55 - HUMAN SERVICES › Part VII - Mental Health Manual › Subpart C - Administration and Fiscal Management › Chapter 5100 - MENTAL HEALTH PROCEDURES › CONFIDENTIALITY OF MENTAL HEALTH RECORDS › Section 5100.34 - Consensual release to third parties

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a) Access to records, as defined in §
											5100.33(b)
					 (relating to patient's access to records and control over release of records)
					 will be granted to persons other than the patient upon written consent of the
					 client/patient. With the consent, copies of excerpts or a summary of a record
					 may be provided to specific persons at the discretion of the director. If
					 copies of excerpts or summaries are provided, a charge may be made against the
					 patient or person receiving the record for the cost of making the copies. The
					 facility may require payment for the copies in advance.
(b) When a patient designates a third party
					 as either a payor or copayor for mental health services, this designation
					 carries with it his consent to release information to representatives of that
					 payor which is necessary to establish reimbursement eligibility. Unless
					 otherwise consented to by the patient, information released to the third-party
					 payors shall be limited to that necessary to establish the claims for which
					 reimbursement is sought.
(c)
					 Clients, patients, or other persons consenting to release of records are to be
					 informed of their right, subject to §
											5100.33 to inspect material to be
					 released.
(d) When records are
					 released or disclosed under §
											5100.32 (relating to nonconsenual
					 release of information) or subsections (a) and (b) the written or oral
					 disclosure shall be accompanied by a written statement which reads as follows:
"This information has been disclosed to you from records
						whose confidentiality is protected by State statute. State regulations limit
						your right to make any further disclosure of this information without prior
						written consent of the person to whom it pertains."
(e) The limitation in subsection (d) does not
					 prohibit the re-release of information in accordance with §
					 5100.32.
(f) Each facility shall
					 prepare a form for use in the voluntary release of records which shall meet the
					 following requirements:
(1) A time limit on
					 its validity which shows starting and ending dates.
(2) Identification of the agency or person to
					 whom the records are to be released.
(3) A statement of the specific purposes for
					 which the released records are to be used.
(4) A statement identifying the specific
					 relevant and timely information to be released.
(5) A place for the signature of the
					 client/patient or parent or guardian and the date, following a statement that
					 the person understands the nature of his release.
(6) A place for the signature of a staff
					 person obtaining the consent of the client/patient or parent or guardian and
					 the date.
(7) A place to record a
					 verbal consent to release of information given by a person physically unable to
					 provide a signature and a place for the signatures of two responsible persons
					 who witnessed that the person understood the nature of the release and freely
					 gave his verbal consent.
(8)
					 Indication that the consent is revocable at the written request of the person
					 giving consent, or oral request as in paragraph (7).