The state’s Office of the Ombudsman for Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities will be permitted to retain paper copies of records, under a new law signed April 24 by Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
Sponsored by Rep. Shelley Madore (DFL-Apple Valley) and Sen. Don Betzold (DFL-Fridley), the office’s information gathering will be allowed to include paper and electronic forms.
For 20 years the office has monitored state government health systems and investigated complaints by the public, Ombudsman Roberta Opheim told a House committee.
Concerns had been raised by the Human Services Department that office staff could lose patient’s private records when driving to and from various locations. Opheim said that when investigating complaints, health records are not always available in electronic format and paper copies are needed. She said the office has never lost or misplaced personal files. The office and department have worked together to come up with an electronic solution, but have yet to reach consensus, she said.
The law also:
• allows the Medical Review Subcommittee to have access to private data collected by the ombudsman in order to review deaths and serious injuries to clients;
• defines “gather” in the law as “access to information or data for purposes of inspection and to receive copies of information or data”; and
• clients will further be defined as “a now deceased person who had been served by an agency, facility, or program.”
The law is effective Aug. 1, 2008.
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