(1) On or before January 1, 2015, the department shall develop a standard release form for exchanging confidential mental health and substance use disorder information for use by all public and private agencies, departments, corporations, or individuals that are involved with treatment of an individual experiencing serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, developmental disability, or substance use disorder. All parties described in this subsection shall honor and accept the standard release form created by the department under this section for the purpose for which it was created unless the party is subject to a federal law or regulation that provides more stringent requirements, as defined under 45 C.F.R. § 160.202, for the protection of individually identifiable health information.

    (2) Beginning on the effective date of the amendatory act that added this section, the department shall create a workgroup to implement the provisions of this section.

    (3) The workgroup created in subsection (2) shall meet periodically, as the department considers necessary, but not less than once a year.

    (4) In developing the standard release form under subsection (1), the department shall comply with all federal and state laws relating to the protection of individually identifiable health information and shall consider all of the following:

    (a) Existing and potential technologies that could be used to securely transmit a standard release form.

    (b) The national standards pertaining to electronic release of confidential information, including protecting a patient’s identity and privacy in accordance with the health insurance portability and accountability act of 1996, Public Law 104-191.

    (c) Any prior release forms and methodologies used in this state.

    (d) Any prior release forms and methodologies developed by federal agencies.

    (5) The standard release form shall be available in both electronic and paper form.

    (6) Any transmission of a standard release form via electronic media may be accepted as an original by the party receiving the standard release form.