(1) (a) On or before July 1,
2025, the BHA shall create a friends and family input form to allow an individual to
provide a treating professional or a licensed or designated facility or organization
with information related to a patient receiving mental health or substance use
services, including:
(I) Information about a patient's:
(A) Diagnosis;
(B) Past hospitalizations;
(C) De-escalation techniques;
(D) Current and past providers and their contact information;
(E) Potential triggers;
(F) Housing status;
(G) Family history, relationships, or social context;
(H) Current medical conditions; and
(I) Current and past medications; and
(II) Any other information as determined by the BHA based on feedback
received from stakeholders.
(b) The friends and family input form must include a clear statement that the
friends and family input form may become part of the patient's medical record.
(2) On or before October 1, 2024, the BHA shall convene one or more
meetings to obtain input and recommendations from stakeholders, including
consumer advocates; behavioral health providers, including behavioral health
safety net providers; representatives from the department of public health and
environment and the department of corrections; individuals with expertise in state
and federal privacy law; and individuals who have accessed mental health or
substance use services, concerning the best practices for creation and use of the
friends and family input form described in subsection (1) of this section.
(3) (a) The friends and family input form may be accepted in writing or
electronically by any health-care facility or provider licensed or designated by the
BHA, any licensee as defined in section 12-245-202 (8), any registrant as defined in
section 12-245-202 (16), the department of public health and environment, the
department of corrections, a county or district public health agency, the
department of health care policy and financing, or any other treatment facility for
individuals with behavioral or mental health disorders.
(b) Covered entities may accept partially completed submissions of the
friends and family input form.
(c) A treating professional or a licensed or designated facility or organization
shall not distribute the friends and family input form to any other entity if a patient
expressly prohibits disclosure, except if a court or other legal authority has ordered
the disclosure.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to modify or alter any generally
accepted ethics, standards, protocols, or laws governing treating professionals. A
covered entity, treating professional, or the professional's designee is not subject
to any civil, criminal, or regulatory sanction for acting or failing to act in response to
the information contained in the friends and family input form or for declining to
accept a friends and family input form.
(e) If a patient explicitly objects to a covered entity receiving information
regarding the patient from a specific individual, the covered entity is not required to
accept information from the specific individual.
(4) A friend or family member providing information about an individual shall
ensure the information is accurate to the best knowledge of the friend or family
member providing the information.
(5) (a) An individual with a close, personal interest in the well-being of the
patient may provide information pursuant to this subsection (5).
(b) A treating professional or a licensed or designated facility or organization
may accept input in writing or through email from another individual.
(c) A treating professional or a licensed or designated facility or organization
may accept input verbally, including through voicemail. If a treating professional or
a licensed or designated facility or organization accepts input verbally, the treating
professional or licensed or designated facility or organization shall establish and
document the process for accepting verbal input.
(d) The provider shall acknowledge receipt of the input provided pursuant to
this subsection (5) but is not required to disclose additional information.
(6) (a) If the disclosures are permitted by HIPAA, a provider may share a
patient's information with family, friends, or any individual with a close, personal
interest in the well-being of the patient without the patient's consent if the patient
is not present or is incapacitated and the treating professional or the professional's
designee determines, based on professional judgment, that it is in the best interest
of the patient.
(b) If a provider discloses information about a patient without the patient's
consent pursuant to subsection (6)(a) of this section, the provider shall discuss only
the information that an individual involved needs to know about a patient's care or
payment.
(c) A provider or facility shall not inform a patient's family, friends, or any
individual with a close, personal interest in the well-being of the patient about a
past medical problem that is unrelated to the patient's current condition.
(d) A provider is not required by HIPAA to share a patient's information when
the patient is not present or is incapacitated. The provider may wait until the patient
has the opportunity to agree to the disclosure.
(7) The BHA shall create a resource page for both providers and families on
its website that includes the friends and family input form and information from
federal guidance documents and shall notify interested stakeholders of the
availability of the friends and family input form and resource page.
(8) The BHA shall promulgate rules for behavioral health safety net
providers related to maintaining and releasing patient information and
implementing the friends and family input form.