{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-12-12-2503","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 12-2503","heading":"Physician and Psychotherapist-Patient Privilege","body":"A. As used in this section:\n\n1. A “patient” is a person who consults or is examined or\n\ninterviewed by a physician or psychotherapist;\n\n2. A “physician” is a person authorized to practice medicine in\n\nany state or nation, or reasonably believed by the patient to be so\n\nauthorized;\n\n3. A “psychotherapist” is:\n\na. a person authorized to practice medicine in any state\n\nor nation, or reasonably believed by the patient to be\n\nso authorized, while engaged in the diagnosis or\n\ntreatment of a mental or emotional condition,\n\nincluding alcohol or drug addiction, or\n\nb. a person licensed or certified as a psychologist under\n\nthe laws of any state or nation, or reasonably\n\nbelieved by the patient to be so licensed or\n\ncertified, while similarly engaged; and\n\n4. A communication is “confidential” if not intended to be\n\ndisclosed to third persons, except persons present to further the\n\ninterest of the patient in the consultation, examination or\n\ninterview, persons reasonably necessary for the transmission of the\n\ncommunication, or persons who are participating in the diagnosis and\n\ntreatment under the direction of the physician or psychotherapist,\n\nincluding members of the patient’s family.\n\nB. A patient has a privilege to refuse to disclose and to\n\nprevent any other person from disclosing confidential communications\n\nmade for the purpose of diagnosis or treatment of the patient’s\n\nphysical, mental or emotional condition, including alcohol or drug\n\naddiction, among the patient, the patient’s physician or\n\npsychotherapist, and persons who are participating in the diagnosis\n\nor treatment under the direction of the physician or\n\npsychotherapist, including members of the patient’s family.\n\nC. The privilege may be claimed by the patient, the patient’s\n\nguardian or conservator or the personal representative of a deceased\n\npatient. The person who was the physician or psychotherapist at the\n\ntime of the communication is presumed to have authority to claim the\n\nprivilege but only on behalf of the patient.\n\nD. The following shall be exceptions to a claim of privilege:\n\n1. There is no privilege under this section for communications\n\nrelevant to an issue in proceedings to hospitalize the patient for\n\nmental illness, if the psychotherapist in the course of diagnosis or\n\ntreatment has determined that the patient is in need of\n\nhospitalization;\n\n2. Communications made in the course of a court-ordered\n\nexamination of the physical, mental or emotional condition of a\n\npatient, whether a party or a witness, are not privileged under this\n\nsection when they relate to the particular purpose for which the\n\nexamination is ordered unless the court orders otherwise;\n\n3. The privilege under this Code as to a communication relevant\n\nto the physical, mental or emotional condition of the patient in any\n\nproceeding in which the patient relies upon that condition as an\n\nelement of the patient’s claim or defense or, after the patient’s\n\ndeath, in any proceeding in which any party relies upon the\n\ncondition as an element of the party’s claim or defense is qualified\n\nto the extent that an adverse party in the proceeding may obtain\n\nrelevant information regarding the condition by statutory discovery;\n\n4. When the patient is an inmate in the custody of the\n\nDepartment of Corrections or a private prison or facility under\n\ncontract with the Department of Corrections, and the release of the\n\ninformation is necessary:\n\na. to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to\n\nthe health or safety of any person, or\n\nb. for law enforcement authorities to identify or\n\napprehend an individual where it appears from all the\n\ncircumstances that the individual has escaped from a\n\ncorrectional institution or from lawful custody; or\n\n5. The testimonial privilege created pursuant to this section\n\ndoes not make communications confidential where state and federal\nmminent threat to\n\nthe health or safety of any person, or\n\nb. for law enforcement authorities to identify or\n\napprehend an individual where it appears from all the\n\ncircumstances that the individual has escaped from a\n\ncorrectional institution or from lawful custody; or\n\n5. The testimonial privilege created pursuant to this section\n\ndoes not make communications confidential where state and federal\n\nprivacy law would otherwise permit disclosure.","path":["OK Code","Title 12"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os12.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"04d7c8ed2d7f8e60f5ac32c6bcd7feb6b063d2ff4150a08210e50abe5112e0dc","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-12-12-2502.1","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-12-12-2503.1"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}