Massachusetts General Laws ch. 111 sec. 72I – Filing of reports; confidentiality
Section 72I. The department shall, subject to appropriation, maintain a file of the written reports prepared pursuant to sections 72G and 72H. The report submitted by the mandatory or nonmandatory reporter to the department and the report prepared by the department following its investigation shall be confidential.
Terms Used In Massachusetts General Laws ch. 111 sec. 72I
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
The patient or resident or counsel therefor, the reporting person or agency, the appropriate professional board of registration or a social worker assigned to the case may, upon written request and the approval of the commissioner, receive a copy of the department’s written report.
The department’s written report shall not be made available to any person other than those authorized herein without the written, informed consent of the patient or resident or the written approval of the commissioner or an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
The reports prepared by the department shall contain no identifying information relating to a patient or resident.
A person who causes any information which is contained in the department’s files maintained pursuant to section 72I to be released without authorization to persons or agencies other than those specified in this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than two and one-half years, or both such fine and imprisonment.