Information shall be disclosed to the protection and advocacy agency charged with protecting and advocating the rights of people with disabilities for the purposes of investigating incidents of abuse or neglect of persons with disabilities.
Licensed clinic board of directors and its medical director shall establish and adopt written policies and procedures to screen patients for purposes of detecting spousal or partner abuse.
Any physician or surgeon who has under his or her care a person exhibiting signs of abuse, assault or gunshot wounds, the health care provider shall make a report to law enforcement authorities. It is recommended, but not mandatory, that the report include patient statements about past abuse.
If a person is transferred from a health care facility/community care facility to a hospital and exhibits symptoms of neglect or abuse, the manager of the hospital or patient's physician at the hospital shall notify appropriate authorities. Healthcare providers/persons complying with this statute shall not incur civil or criminal liability, and shall not be disciplined by their employer for doing so.
A domestic violence death review team may request disclosure of information such as medical information, notwithstanding the prohibitions in other laws.
In order to determine whether a person is in substantial danger of abuse or neglect and needs a conservator, the public guardian or the county's adult protective services agency may petition for the court to order identified health care providers or organizations to provide private medical information about the person to the public guardian's authorized representatives.
A local law enforcement agency must immediately report to the ombudsman program when the abuse is alleged to have occurred in a long-term care facility or to the county adult protective services if abuse occurred elsewhere. The law enforcement agency must also report the abuse to the agency responsible for investigating cases of elder and dependent adult abuse.
