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<section article="ghg" article_name="Health - General" number="5-1005" title_number="5" title_name="Death" subtitle_number="10" subtitle_name="Maryland Suicide Fatality Review Committee">
  <level label="a">
    <text>The State team is a public health authority, as defined in 45 C.F.R. § 164.501, conducting public health activities in accordance with the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <text>On request of the chair of the State team and as necessary to carry out the State team’s purpose and duties, a health care provider or a State or local government agency immediately shall provide to the State team any records of the health care provider or State or local government agency necessary to complete the review of a specific fatality, including:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>Hospital records;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Outpatient clinic, health care provider, and laboratory records;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>Police investigation data;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>Medical examiner investigative data;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="5">
      <text>Cause–of–death information in vital records;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="6">
      <text>Social services records; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="7">
      <text>Other records from State offices, agencies, and departments.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <text>The State team may request that a person with direct knowledge of circumstances surrounding a fatality provide the State team with information necessary to complete the review of the particular fatality, including information from:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>A health care provider or staff involved in the care of the decedent; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The person who first responded to a report concerning the decedent.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <text>The State team:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>May share information with other public health authorities or their designees as the State team determines necessary to carry out the purposes of this subtitle; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Shall coordinate with the State’s Child Fatality Review and Drug Overdose Fatality Review teams to share and receive information relevant to the State team’s findings and to ensure efficiency in the work of the teams.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="e">
    <level label="1">
      <text>Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, all information and records acquired by the State team in the exercise of its duties:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Shall be confidential;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Shall be exempt from disclosure under the Public Information Act; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>May not be subject to discovery or introduction into evidence in any proceedings.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Information may be disclosed as necessary and in a manner consistent with this subtitle to carry out the purposes of this subtitle.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="f">
    <text>Mental health records are subject to the additional limitations under § 4–307 of this article for disclosure of a medical record developed primarily in connection with the provision of mental health services.</text>
  </level>
</section>
