Utah Code 26B-8-217. Records of medical examiner — Confidentiality
Current as of: 2024 | Check for updates
|
Other versions
(1) The medical examiner shall maintain complete, original records for the medical examiner record, which shall:
For details, see Utah Code § 76-3-204
Attorney's Note
Under the Utah Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| class B misdemeanor | up to 6 months | up to $1,000 |
Terms Used In Utah Code 26B-8-217
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Defense attorney: Represent defendants in criminal matters.
- Immediate relative: means an individual's spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild. See Utah Code 26B-8-201
- 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.
- Local health department: means the same as that term is defined in Section 26A-1-102. See Utah Code 26B-1-102
- Medical examiner: means the state medical examiner appointed pursuant to Section
26B-8-202 or a deputy appointed by the medical examiner. See Utah Code 26B-8-201 - Medical examiner record: means :(6)(a) all information that the medical examiner obtains regarding a decedent;(6)(b) reports that the medical examiner makes regarding a decedent; and(6)(c) all administrative forms and correspondence related to a decedent's case. See Utah Code 26B-8-201
- Person: means :
(24)(a) an individual;(24)(b) an association;(24)(c) an institution;(24)(d) a corporation;(24)(e) a company;(24)(f) a trust;(24)(g) a limited liability company;(24)(h) a partnership;(24)(i) a political subdivision;(24)(j) a government office, department, division, bureau, or other body of government; and(24)(k) any other organization or entity. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5- Public health authority: means an agency or authority of the United States, a state, a territory, a political subdivision of a state or territory, an Indian tribe, or a person acting under a grant of authority from or a contract with such an agency, that is responsible for public health matters as part of the agency or authority's official mandate. See Utah Code 26B-1-102
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
(1)(a) be properly indexed, giving the name, if known, or otherwise identifying every individual whose death is investigated;(1)(b) indicate the place where the body was found;(1)(c) indicate the date of death;(1)(d) indicate the cause and manner of death;(1)(e) indicate the occupation of the decedent, if available;(1)(f) include all other relevant information concerning the death; and(1)(g) include a full report and detailed findings of the autopsy or report of the investigation.(2)(2)(a) Upon written request from an individual described in Subsections (2)(a)(i) through (iv), the medical examiner shall provide a copy of the autopsy report, toxicology report, lab reports, investigative reports, documents generated by the medical examiner related to any report, and any other specifically requested portions of the medical examiner record, if any, to any of the following:(2)(a)(i) a decedent’s immediate relative;(2)(a)(ii) a decedent’s legal representative;(2)(a)(iii) a physician or physician assistant who attended the decedent during the year before the decedent’s death; or(2)(a)(iv) a county attorney, a district attorney, a criminal defense attorney, or other law enforcement official with jurisdiction, as necessary for the performance of the attorney or official’s professional duties.(2)(b) Subject to Subsection(2) (c), upon written request from the director or a designee of the director of an entity described in Subsections (2)(b)(i) through (iv), the medical examiner may provide a copy of any medical examiner report or other portions of the medical examiner’s record described in Subsection (2)(a), to any of the following entities as necessary for performance of the entity’s official purposes:(2)(b)(i) a local health department;(2)(b)(ii) a local mental health authority;(2)(b)(iii) a public health authority; or(2)(b)(iv) another state or federal governmental agency.(2)(c) The medical examiner may provide a copy of a report or portion of the medical examiner’s record described in Subsection (2)(a), if the report or portion of the medical examiner’s record relates to an issue of public health or safety, as further defined by rule made by the department in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.(3) Reports provided under Subsection (2) may not include records that the medical examiner obtains from a third party in the course of investigating the decedent’s death.(4) The medical examiner may provide a medical examiner record to a researcher who:(4)(a) has an advanced degree;(4)(b)(4)(b)(i) is affiliated with an accredited college or university, a hospital, or another system of care, including an emergency medical response or a local health agency; or(4)(b)(ii) is part of a research firm contracted with an accredited college or university, a hospital, or another system of care;(4)(c) requests a medical examiner record for a research project or a quality improvement initiative that will have a public health benefit, as determined by the department; and(4)(d) provides to the medical examiner an approval from:(4)(d)(i) the researcher’s sponsoring organization; and(4)(d)(ii) the Utah Department of Health and Human Services Institutional Review Board.(5) Records provided under Subsection (4) may not include a third party record, unless:(5)(a) a court has ordered disclosure of the third party record; and(5)(b) disclosure is conducted in compliance with state and federal law.(6) A person who obtains a medical examiner record under Subsection (4) shall:(6)(a) maintain the confidentiality of the medical examiner record by removing personally identifying information about a decedent or the decedent’s family and any other information that may be used to identify a decedent before using the medical examiner record in research;(6)(b) conduct any research within and under the supervision of the Office of the Medical Examiner, if the medical examiner record contains a third party record with personally identifiable information;(6)(c) limit the use of a medical examiner record to the purpose for which the person requested the medical examiner record;(6)(d) destroy a medical examiner record and the data abstracted from the medical examiner record at the conclusion of the research for which the person requested the medical examiner record;(6)(e) reimburse the medical examiner, as provided in Section26B-1-209 , for any costs incurred by the medical examiner in providing a medical examiner record;(6)(f) allow the medical examiner to review, before public release, a publication in which data from a medical examiner record is referenced or analyzed; and(6)(g) provide the medical examiner access to the researcher’s database containing data from a medical examiner record, until the day on which the researcher permanently destroys the medical examiner record and all data obtained from the medical examiner record.(7) The department may make rules, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, and in consideration of applicable state and federal law, to establish permissible uses and disclosures of a medical examiner record or other record obtained under this section.(8) Except as provided in this chapter or ordered by a court, the medical examiner may not disclose any part of a medical examiner record.(9) A person who obtains a medical examiner record under Subsection (4) is guilty of a class B misdemeanor, if the person fails to comply with the requirements of Subsections (6)(a) through (d). - Person: means :