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.


LRB102 17209 LNS 22667 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB1970LRB102 17209 LNS 22667 b

1    AN ACT concerning mental health.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Access
5to Basic Mental Health Information Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7    "Mental health facility" has the meaning ascribed to that
8term in Section 1-114 of the Mental Health and Developmental
9Disabilities Code.
10    "Physician" has the meaning ascribed to that term in
11Section 1-120 of the Mental Health and Developmental
12Disabilities Code.
13    "Recipient" has the meaning ascribed to the term
14"recipient of services" in Section 1-123 of the Mental Health
15and Developmental Disabilities Code.
 
16    Section 10. Access to information.
17    (a) Each of the following individuals is entitled, upon
18request, to obtain information regarding a recipient in a
19mental health facility if the individual declares that he or
20she is involved in the recipient's care or paying for the
21recipient's care and the individual meets the requirements of
22subsection (b):

 

 

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1        (1) the parent of a recipient;
2        (2) the adult sibling of a recipient;
3        (3) the adult child of a recipient;
4        (4) the spouse of a recipient; or
5        (5) the adult grandchild of the recipient.
6    (b) An individual listed in subsection (a) is entitled to
7receive information from the mental health facility if:
8        (1) the recipient expressly agrees to the
9    communication as provided in Section 5 of the Mental
10    Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act;
11        (2) the recipient does not object to the communication
12    when given the opportunity;
13        (3) the recipient is unconscious, lacks capacity due
14    to intoxicants or temporary psychosis, and the physician
15    at the mental health facility determines, in his or her
16    professional judgment, that sharing the information would
17    be in the recipient's best interest; or
18        (4) the physician infers, based on his or her
19    professional judgment, that the recipient intends to share
20    the mental health information with the individual.
21    (c) An individual requesting information must submit to
22the mental health facility proof of identification and list
23his or her name, address, phone number, and relationship to
24the recipient.
25    (d) The mental health facility shall provide the following
26information to an individual entitled to information under

 

 

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1subsection (a):
2        (1) whether the recipient is located at the mental
3    health facility;
4        (2) current physical and mental condition;
5        (3) diagnosis;
6        (4) treatment needs;
7        (5) services provided;
8        (6) services needed, including medication, if any;
9        (7) discharge planning or continuity of care, if
10    applicable; and
11        (8) if clinically appropriate, a physician's report as
12    provided under the adult guardianship proceeding under
13    Section 11a-9 of the Probate Act of 1975 or an Inpatient
14    Certificate or Outpatient Certificate under Article VI,
15    VII, or VII-A of Chapter III of the Mental Health and
16    Developmental Disabilities Code.
17    (e) Regardless of any individual's ability to receive
18information from the mental health facility, a mental health
19facility is required to receive relevant information, either
20orally or in writing, regarding a recipient from the
21recipient's family and friends, including, but not limited, to
22past hospitalizations, medication, behaviors, and other
23information relevant to the recipient's mental health
24treatment. If the recipient requests the mental health record
25from the mental health facility, any information that was
26tendered to the mental health facility under a promise of

 

 

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1confidentiality may be withheld from the recipient if
2disclosure of the information would be reasonably likely to
3reveal the source of the mental health information.
4    (f) An individual entitled to information under this Act
5shall not use the information provided by the mental health
6facility regarding the recipient in any legal proceedings or
7in any other transaction to the individual's advantage and the
8information shall be excluded from evidence in said
9proceedings and may not be used in any other way, unless it is
10being used to assert or prove that a person is subject to an
11involuntary admission under Article VIII of Chapter III of the
12Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code or to prove
13that a person is a person with a disability in need of an adult
14guardianship proceeding under Article XIa of the Probate Act
15of 1975.
16    (g) Whenever access or modification is requested, the
17request, the grounds for its acceptance or denial, and any
18action taken thereon shall be noted in the recipient's record.
19    (h) A mental health facility and its employees or agents
20are not liable for any action under this Act, including, but
21not limited to, the release of information to a third party not
22in compliance with this Act, unless the release was made
23deliberately or the release constituted gross negligence.
24    (i) Nothing in this Act constitutes an infringement on an
25individual's right to obtain mental health records of the
26recipient if the individual has another right to the mental

 

 

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1health records by law, regulation, or consent of the
2recipient.
3    (j) This Act shall be liberally construed to allow receipt
4of mental health information to individuals entitled to a
5recipient's information. This Act supersedes Sections 2-101.1
6and 2-113 of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities
7Code and any other law that would be viewed to limit the access
8of an individual listed in subsection (a) to a recipient's
9mental health records to the extent necessary to give this Act
10full implementation.
 
11    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
12becoming law.