Okla. Stat. tit. 43A, § 43A-1-109v1: Confidential and privileged information - Disclosure.

A. 1. All mental health and drug or alcohol abuse treatment information, whether or not recorded, and all communications between a physician or psychotherapist and a consumer are both privileged and confidential. In addition, the identity of all persons who have received or are receiving mental health or drug or alcohol abuse treatment services shall be considered confidential and privileged.

2. Such information shall only be available to persons actively engaged in the treatment of the consumer or in related administrative work. The information available to persons actively engaged in the treatment of the consumer or in related administrative work shall be limited to the minimum amount of information necessary for the person or agency to carry out its function.

3. Such information shall not be disclosed to anyone not involved in the treatment or related administrative work without a valid written release or an order from a court of competent jurisdiction.

B. 1. The restrictions on disclosure shall not apply to the following:

a. communications to law enforcement officers that are directly related to a commission of a crime by a consumer on the premises of a facility or against facility personnel or to a threat to commit such a crime, and that are limited to the circumstances of the incident, including the consumer status of the individual committing or threatening to commit the crime, the name and address of that individual, and the last-known whereabouts of that individual,

b. reporting under state law of incidents of suspected child abuse and neglect to the appropriate authorities,

c. disclosure of consumer-identifying information to medical personnel who have a need for information about a consumer for the purpose of treating a condition which poses an immediate threat to the health of any individual and which requires immediate medical intervention,

d. disclosure of information when the consumer is an inmate in the custody of the Department of Corrections or a private prison or facility under contract with the Department of Corrections and the information is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or the public, and the information is released to a person or persons reasonably able to prevent or lessen the threat, including the target of the threat, and

e. disclosure of consumer-identifying information when it appears from all the circumstances that the individual has escaped from a correctional institution or from lawful custody and the release is to a law enforcement authority for the purpose of identification and apprehension.

2. Disclosures under this subsection shall be limited to the minimum information necessary to accomplish the intended purpose of the disclosure.

C. A person who is or has been a consumer of a physician, psychotherapist, mental health facility, a drug or alcohol abuse treatment facility or service, other agency for the purpose of mental health or drug or alcohol abuse care and treatment shall be entitled to personal access to the person’s mental health or drug or alcohol abuse treatment information unless access is reasonably likely to endanger the life or physical safety of the consumer or another person as determined by the person in charge of the care and treatment of the patient.

D. 1. The restrictions on disclosure of mental health or drug or alcohol abuse treatment information shall not restrict the disclosure of consumer-identifying information related to the cause of death of a consumer under laws requiring the collection of death or other vital statistics or permitting inquiry into the cause of death.

2. Any other disclosure regarding a deceased consumer shall require either a court order or a written release of:

a. an executor, administrator, or personal representative appointed by the court,

b. if there is no such appointment, by the spouse of the consumer, or

c. if none, by any responsible member of the family of the consumer.

E. A valid written release for disclosure of mental health or drug or alcohol abuse treatment information shall have, at a minimum, the following elements:

1. The specific name or general designation of the program or person permitted to make the disclosure;

2. The name or title of the individual or the name of the organization to which disclosure is to be made;

3. The name of the consumer whose records are to be released;

4. The purpose of the disclosure;

5. A description of the information to be disclosed;

6. The dated signature of the consumer or authorized representative or both when required;

7. A statement of the right of the consumer to revoke the release in writing and a description of how the consumer may do so;

8. An expiration date, event or condition if not revoked before, which shall ensure the release will last no longer than reasonably necessary to serve the purpose for which it is given; and

9. If the release is signed by a person authorized to act for a consumer, a description of the authority of such person to act.

F. “Responsible member of the family” means the parent, adult child, adult sibling, or other adult relative who was actively involved in providing care to or monitoring the care of the deceased consumer as verified by the physician, psychologist or other person responsible for the care and treatment of such person.