Request By:
Mr. Van R. Hudson
Administrator
Cumberland River Comprehensive
Care Center
Mounted Route 1
Harlan, Kentucky 40831
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Carl Miller, Assistant Attorney General
You have requested an opinion of the Attorney General concerning the release of medical records by a comprehensive care center to the person who is the subject of the records or to the parent of the person. You have stated two different factual cases which we will deal with as presented but, first, we will note the bearing of certain statutes on the confidentiality of mental health records. The Open Records Law, KRS 61.870-61.884, deals with the right of the public generally to inspect public records. In OAG 76-420, copy enclosed, we stated that mental health records are made confidential by KRS 210.235 which deals specifically with such records. We also said that mental health records would all come under the exemption in the Open Records Law provided by KRS 61.878(1)(a) -- records containing information of a personal nature where the public disclosure thereof would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. In that opinion we did not deal with the question of whether the person who is the subject of the records, his parents or guardian, is entitled to have a copy of the records. That is a question which now confronts us in the two cases you have presented.
"Case #1.
"A person who is a client of our Comprehensive Care Center has requested a copy of all the information contained in his medical record chart so that he may take it home and keep it.
"Is it required by statute that we make a copy for him and, if we are required to do so, can we charge him for the copy cost and at what rate?"
Answer: You do not have to comply with such a request by a person subject of the records who is a minor or who has been legally adjudged incompetent. If the person is a competent adult, he is entitled to have a copy of the records. KRS 61.884 provides: "Any person shall have access to any public record relating to him or in which he is mentioned by name, upon presentation of appropriate identification, subject to the provisions of KRS 61.878."
You may charge him a reasonable fee per page for a copy of the record which shall not exceed the actual cost thereof not including the cost of staff required. KRS 61.874(2). (The fee per page charged by agencies varies and is usually between 10 to 25 per page.)
"Case #2.
A parent of a child that is in a preschool training program operated by our Comprehensive Care Center has requested that copies of the child's record be made (and given to the parent) so that the parent can maintain a file on the child at home. Are we required by statute to release this information to the parent regarding the child and, if so, can we charge for the copying costs and at what rate?"
Answer: We believe that the parent is entitled to a copy of the child's record, even though you state that you wish to keep the records confidential for the protection of your clients. We reach our conclusions on the basis of KRS 210.235 which reads, in part, as follows:
"All applications and requests for admission and release, and all certifications, records and reports of the Department of Human Resources which directly or indirectly identify a patient or former patient or a person whose hospitalization has been sought, shall be kept confidential and shall not be disclosed by any person, except insofar as:
(1) The person identified or his guardian, if any, shall consent;
* * * *"
This statute implies that the subject of the records or his guardian shall have control over the records and, consequently, we conclude that the parent and legal guardian of a child is entitled to a copy of the record. You may charge for providing a copy on the basis we have stated above.