Okla. Stat. tit. 21, § 21-142.9: Waiver of physician-patient privilege - Mental or

physical examination – Reports - Advisory panel - Limiting

compensation for treatment - Debt collection.

A. Any person filing a claim under the provisions of Section

142.1 et seq. of this title shall be deemed to have waived any

physician-patient privilege as to communications or records relevant

to an issue of the physical, mental or emotional conditions of the

claimant.

B. If the mental, physical or emotional condition of a claimant

is material to a claim, the Crime Victims Compensation Board upon

good cause shown may order the claimant to submit to a mental or

physical examination. The examination report shall set out the

findings of the person making the report, including results of all

tests made, diagnoses, prognoses and other conclusions and reports

of earlier examinations of the same conditions.

C. The Board shall furnish a copy of the examination report.

If the victim is deceased, the Board, on request, shall furnish a

copy of the report to the claimant.

D. The Board may require the claimant to supply any additional

medical or psychological reports available relating to the injury or

death for which compensation is claimed.

E. In certain cases wherein mental health expenses are being

claimed, the Board and Administrator of the Crime Victims

Compensation Board may request assistance from a panel of

professionals in the mental health field. The panel of

professionals may only act in an advisory capacity to the Board.

F. The Board shall have the authority to set limits of

compensation on any medical or mental health treatment, and require

that providers of medical or mental health treatment be licensed

prior to compensating for said treatment. Awards for all medical

services shall not exceed eighty percent (80%) of the total cost of

the service less any other reduction for contributory conduct, as

determined by the Board. Any medical provider that receives payment

from the Crime Victims Compensation Revolving Fund for medical,

dental or psychological services, or any provider that supplies

equipment pursuant to an award under the Oklahoma Crime Victims

Compensation Act shall, as a condition of the receipt of such

payment, accept such payment as discharging in full any and all

obligations of the claimant to pay, reimburse or compensate the

provider for medical services, supplies or equipment that have been

reimbursed pursuant to the Oklahoma Crime Victims Compensation Act.

In the event the claimant has paid for a medical service, the

claimant will be reimbursed for the out-of-pocket loss, less any

reductions for contributory conduct, as determined by the Board.

G. All records and information given to the Board to process a

claim on behalf of a crime victim shall be confidential. Such

exhibits, medical records, psychological records, counseling

records, work records, criminal investigation records, criminal

court case records, witness statements, telephone records, and other

records of any type or nature whatsoever gathered for the purpose of

evaluating whether to compensate a victim shall not be obtainable by

any party to any civil or criminal action through any discovery

process except:

1. In the event of an appeal under the Administrative

Procedures Act from a decision of the Board and then only to the

extent narrowly and necessarily to obtain court review; or

2. Upon a strict showing to the court in a separate civil or

criminal action that particular information or documents are not

obtainable after diligent effort from any independent source, and

are known to exist otherwise only in Board records, the court may

inspect in camera such records to determine whether the specific

requested information exists. If the court determines the specific

information sought exists in the Board's records, the documents may

riminal action that particular information or documents are not

obtainable after diligent effort from any independent source, and

are known to exist otherwise only in Board records, the court may

inspect in camera such records to determine whether the specific

requested information exists. If the court determines the specific

information sought exists in the Board's records, the documents may

then be released only by court order if the court finds as part of

its order that the documents will not pose any threat to the safety

of the victim or any other person whose identity may appear in the

Board's records.

H. When a person files a claim, all providers that have been

given notice of a pending claim shall refrain from all debt

collection activities relating to medical treatment or other

services received by the person in connection with such claim until

an award is made on the claim or until a claim is determined to be

noncompensable pursuant to the provisions of this act. The statute

of limitations for collection of such debt shall be tolled during

the period in which the applicable health care provider or other

service provider is required to refrain from debt collection

activities under this subsection. For the purposes of this

subsection, "debt collection activities" means repeatedly calling or

writing to the claimant and threatening either to turn the matter

over to a debt collection agency or to an attorney for collection,

enforcement, or filing of other process. The term shall not include

routine billing about the status of the claim.