SB1970 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 17209 LNS 22667 b

102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB1970

Introduced 2/26/2021, by Sen. Laura Fine

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Access to Basic Mental Health Information Act. Provides definitions for "mental health facility", "physician", and "recipient". Provides that specified individuals are entitled, upon request, to obtain certain information regarding a recipient in a mental health facility if the individual declares that he or she is involved in the recipient's care or paying for the recipient's care and the individual meets specified requirements. Provides that an individual requesting information must submit to the mental health facility specified information. Provides that a mental health facility is required to receive information relevant to the recipient's mental health treatment. Provides that if the recipient requests the mental health record from the mental health facility, any information that was tendered to the mental health facility under a promise of confidentiality may be withheld from the recipient if disclosure of the information would be reasonably likely to reveal the source of the mental health information. Provides that whenever access or modification is requested, the request, the grounds for its acceptance or denial, and any action taken thereon shall be noted in the recipient's record. Provides that a mental health facility and its employees or agents are not liable for any action under the Act unless the release was made deliberately or the release constituted gross negligence. Provides that nothing in the Act constitutes an infringement on an individual's right to obtain mental health records of the recipient if the individual has another right to the mental health records by law, regulation, or consent of the recipient. Provides that the Act shall be liberally construed to allow receipt of mental health information to individuals entitled to a recipient's information. Provides that the Act supersedes the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code and any other law that would be viewed to limit the access of an individual to a recipient's mental health records to the extent necessary to give the Act full implementation. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning mental health.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Access to Basic Mental Health Information Act.

Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Mental health facility" has the meaning ascribed to that term in Section 1-114 of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code.

"Physician" has the meaning ascribed to that term in Section 1-120 of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code.

"Recipient" has the meaning ascribed to the term "recipient of services" in Section 1-123 of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code.

Section 10. Access to information.

(a) Each of the following individuals is entitled, upon request, to obtain information regarding a recipient in a mental health facility if the individual declares that he or she is involved in the recipient's care or paying for the recipient's care and the individual meets the requirements of subsection (b):

(1) the parent of a recipient;

(2) the adult sibling of a recipient;

(3) the adult child of a recipient;

(4) the spouse of a recipient; or

(5) the adult grandchild of the recipient.

(b) An individual listed in subsection (a) is entitled to receive information from the mental health facility if:

(1) the recipient expressly agrees to the communication as provided in Section 5 of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act;

(2) the recipient does not object to the communication when given the opportunity;

(3) the recipient is unconscious, lacks capacity due to intoxicants or temporary psychosis, and the physician at the mental health facility determines, in his or her professional judgment, that sharing the information would be in the recipient's best interest; or

(4) the physician infers, based on his or her professional judgment, that the recipient intends to share the mental health information with the individual.

(c) An individual requesting information must submit to the mental health facility proof of identification and list his or her name, address, phone number, and relationship to the recipient.

(d) The mental health facility shall provide the following information to an individual entitled to information under subsection (a):

(1) whether the recipient is located at the mental health facility;

(2) current physical and mental condition;

(3) diagnosis;

(4) treatment needs;

(5) services provided;

(6) services needed, including medication, if any;

(7) discharge planning or continuity of care, if applicable; and

(8) if clinically appropriate, a physician's report as provided under the adult guardianship proceeding under Section 11a-9 of the Probate Act of 1975 or an Inpatient Certificate or Outpatient Certificate under Article VI, VII, or VII-A of Chapter III of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code.

(e) Regardless of any individual's ability to receive information from the mental health facility, a mental health facility is required to receive relevant information, either orally or in writing, regarding a recipient from the recipient's family and friends, including, but not limited, to past hospitalizations, medication, behaviors, and other information relevant to the recipient's mental health treatment. If the recipient requests the mental health record from the mental health facility, any information that was tendered to the mental health facility under a promise of confidentiality may be withheld from the recipient if disclosure of the information would be reasonably likely to reveal the source of the mental health information.

(f) An individual entitled to information under this Act shall not use the information provided by the mental health facility regarding the recipient in any legal proceedings or in any other transaction to the individual's advantage and the information shall be excluded from evidence in said proceedings and may not be used in any other way, unless it is being used to assert or prove that a person is subject to an involuntary admission under Article VIII of Chapter III of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code or to prove that a person is a person with a disability in need of an adult guardianship proceeding under Article XIa of the Probate Act of 1975.

(g) Whenever access or modification is requested, the request, the grounds for its acceptance or denial, and any action taken thereon shall be noted in the recipient's record.

(h) A mental health facility and its employees or agents are not liable for any action under this Act, including, but not limited to, the release of information to a third party not in compliance with this Act, unless the release was made deliberately or the release constituted gross negligence.

(i) Nothing in this Act constitutes an infringement on an individual's right to obtain mental health records of the recipient if the individual has another right to the mental health records by law, regulation, or consent of the recipient.

(j) This Act shall be liberally construed to allow receipt of mental health information to individuals entitled to a recipient's information. This Act supersedes Sections 2-101.1 and 2-113 of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code and any other law that would be viewed to limit the access of an individual listed in subsection (a) to a recipient's mental health records to the extent necessary to give this Act full implementation.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.