Law / United States / 
Iowa
Disclosure of mental health and psychological information: mental health professionals, data collectors and facilities
In force since .
A sensitive categories rule binding public and private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Prohibition, Consent, Disclosure
- Audit expectation
- none
As of .
What it requires
- As a mental health professional, a data collector, or an employee or agent of one or of a mental health facility, do not disclose or permit the disclosure of mental health information except as the chapter authorizes (Iowa Code 228.2(1)).
- When you disclose mental health information as the chapter permits, enter a notation with the individual's record stating the date of the disclosure and the name of the recipient, and give the recipient a statement that disclosures may be made only on written authorization or as the chapter provides, that unauthorized disclosure is unlawful, and that civil damages and criminal penalties may apply (228.2(2)).
- If you receive mental health information, do not disclose it further except as the chapter authorizes (228.2(3)).
- To disclose on an individual's consent, use a signed voluntary written authorization that specifies the nature of the information, who may disclose it and the purposes of use, advises of the right to inspect the disclosed information, states the conditions of revocation, specifies how long it is valid and is dated, and give the individual or the individual's legal representative a copy (228.3).
- Stop disclosing under an authorization once you receive the written revocation (228.4).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
What this law does
In chapter 228 of the Iowa Code, mental health information means oral, written or recorded information which indicates the identity of an individual receiving professional services and which relates to the diagnosis, course or treatment of the individual's mental or emotional condition.
Section 228.2 bars a mental health professional, data collector, or employee or agent of a mental health professional, of a data collector, or of or for a mental health facility from disclosing or permitting the disclosure of mental health information, except as the chapter specifically authorizes. Section 228.2 requires the person disclosing mental health information to enter a notation with the individual's record stating the date of the disclosure and the name of the recipient.
Section 228.2 also requires the person disclosing to give the recipient a statement that unauthorized disclosure of mental health information is unlawful and that civil damages and criminal penalties may be applicable. Section 228.2 bars a recipient of mental health information from disclosing the information received, except as the chapter specifically authorizes.
Section 228.3 lets an individual eighteen years of age or older, or the individual's legal representative, consent to disclosure of mental health information by signing a voluntary written authorization that must specify the nature of the information, the persons authorized to disclose it and the purposes of use. Section 228.4 lets an individual or the individual's legal representative revoke a prior authorization in writing, effective on receipt by the person previously authorized to disclose.
Chapter 1082 of the 1986 Acts, Senate File 2247, added chapter 228 on the disclosure of mental health information to the Iowa Code. The Secretary of State certified that Senate File 2247 was published in the Quad-City Times on , and in The Anamosa Journal-Eureka on .
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app handles health records.