SB3562 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 37644 RLC 67771 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB3562

Introduced 2/9/2024, by Sen. Laura Ellman

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Including Families in Mental Health Recovery Act. Provides that no later than one year after the effective date of the Act, the Department of Human Services shall adopt rules clarifying the circumstances under which, consistent with the standards governing the privacy and security of individually identifiable health information, Illinois health care providers and covered entities may disclose the protected health information of patients with a mental illness. Provides that no later than one year after the effective date of this Act, the Department of Human Services shall develop and disseminate only within Illinois: (1) a model program and materials for training health care providers (including physicians, emergency medical personnel, psychologists, counselors, therapists, behavioral health facilities and clinics, care managers, and hospitals) regarding the circumstances under which, consistent with the standards governing privacy and security of individually identifiable health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the protected health information of patients with a mental illness may be disclosed with and without patient consent; (2) a model program and materials for training lawyers and others in the legal profession on such circumstances; and (3) a model program and materials for training patients and their families regarding their rights to protect and obtain information under the standards specified in the Act.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning health.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Including Families in Mental Health Recovery Act.

Section 5. Disclosure of protected health care information. No later than one year after the effective date of this Act, the Department of Human Services shall adopt rules clarifying the circumstances under which, consistent with the standards governing the privacy and security of individually identifiable health information, Illinois health care providers and covered entities may disclose the protected health information of patients with a mental illness, including for the purposes of:

(1) communicating with a patient's family, caregivers, friends, or others involved in the patient's care, including communication about treatments, side effects, risk factors, and the availability of community resources;

(2) communicating with family or caregivers when the patient is an adult;

(3) communicating with family or caregivers of a patient who is a minor;

(4) considering the patient's capacity to agree or object to the sharing of the patient's information;

(5) communicating and sharing information with a patient's family or caregivers when:

(A) the patient consents; or

(B) the patient does not consent but the patient lacks the capacity to agree or object and the communication or sharing of information is in the patient's best interest;

(6) involving a patient's family members, friends, or caregivers, or others involved in the patient's care, in the patient's care plan, including treatment and medication adherence, in dealing with patient failures to adhere to medication or other therapy;

(7) listening to or receiving information from family members or caregivers about their loved ones receiving mental illness treatment;

(8) communicating with family members, caregivers, law enforcement, or others when the patient presents a serious and imminent threat of harm to self or others; and

(9) communicating to law enforcement and family members or caregivers about the admission of a patient to receive care at a facility or the release of a patient who was admitted to a facility for an emergency psychiatric hold or involuntary treatment.

Section 10. Development and dissemination of model training programs.

(a) No later than one year after the effective date of this Act, the Department of Human Services shall develop and disseminate only within Illinois:

(1) a model program and materials for training health care providers (including physicians, emergency medical personnel, psychologists, counselors, therapists, behavioral health facilities and clinics, care managers, and hospitals) regarding the circumstances under which, consistent with the standards governing privacy and security of individually identifiable health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the protected health information of patients with a mental illness may be disclosed with and without patient consent;

(2) a model program and materials for training lawyers and others in the legal profession on such circumstances; and

(3) a model program and materials for training patients and their families regarding their rights to protect and obtain information under the standards specified in paragraph (1).

(b) In developing the model programs and materials required by this Section, the Department of Human Services shall solicit the input of relevant national, State, and local associations, medical societies, and licensing boards.