Exercise of patient's rights by others; equal access to records; fees

Sec. 9. (a) For the purposes of this chapter, the following persons are entitled to exercise the patient's rights on the patient's behalf:

(1) If the patient is a minor, the parent, guardian, or other court appointed representative of the patient.

(2) If the provider determines that the patient is incapable of giving or withholding consent, the patient's guardian, a court appointed representative of the patient, a person possessing a health care power of attorney under IC 30-5-5-16 for the patient, or the patient's health care representative under IC 16-36-1-7 or IC 16-36-7.

(b) A custodial parent and a noncustodial parent of a child have equal access to the child's mental health records unless:

(1) a court has issued an order that limits the noncustodial parent's access to the child's mental health records; and

(2) the provider has received a copy of the court order or has actual knowledge of the court order.

If the provider incurs an additional expense by allowing a parent equal access to a child's mental health records, the provider may require the parent requesting the equal access to pay a fee under IC 16-39-9 to cover the cost of the additional expense.

[Pre-1993 Recodification Citation: 16-4-8-3.1(i).]

As added by P.L.2-1993, SEC.22. Amended by P.L.4-1997, SEC.7; P.L.50-2021, SEC.64.