Confidentiality &
Privacy Policy
The law protects the relationship between a client & a psychotherapist, & information cannot be disclosed without written permission, with the following exceptions (Tenn. Code Ann. § 33-3-105):
Information that is confidential under § 33-3-103 may be disclosed without consent of the service recipient if:
(1) Disclosure is necessary to carry out duties under this title;
(2) Disclosure may be necessary to assure service or care to the service recipient by the least drastic means that are suitable to the service recipient's liberty and interests;
(3) As a court orders, after a hearing, upon its determination that disclosure is necessary for the conduct of proceedings before it and that failure to make the disclosure would be contrary to public interest or to the detriment of a party to the proceedings;
(4) It is solely information as to a residential service recipient's overall medical condition without clinical details and is sought by the service recipient's family members, relatives, conservator, legal guardian, legal custodian, guardian ad litem, foster parents, or friends;
(5) A service recipient moves from one service provider to another and exchange of information is necessary for continuity of service;
(6) A custodial agent for another state agency that has legal custody of the service recipient cannot perform the agent's duties properly without the information; or
(7) Necessary for the preparation of a post-mortem examination report in accordance with § 38-7-110(e) and authorized to be obtained pursuant to § 38-7-117(b).
33-3-108. Access permitted for reports of harm and granting of access in cases of abuse.
(a) Section 33-3-103 does not preclude making reports of harm or granting access to records if making reports of harm or granting access to records is expressly required by:
(1) The Child Abuse Reporting Law, compiled in title 37, chapter 1, part 4;
(2) The Child Sexual Abuse Reporting Law, compiled in title 37, chapter 1, part 6; or
(3) The Adult Protective Services Law, compiled in title 71, chapter 6.
(b)
(1) The identity of a person who reports abuse, exploitation, fraud, neglect, misappropriation or mistreatment to the department is confidential and may not be disclosed without the person's consent, except as follows:
(A) As necessary to carry out the laws cited in subsection (a);
(B) To employees of the department as necessary to investigate the report;
(C) To the abuse registry;
(D) To the appropriate district attorney general;
(E) By order of a court with jurisdiction over abuse, exploitation, fraud, neglect, misappropriation or mistreatment; or
(F) By order of a court or administrative law judge in a proceeding involving sanctions or disciplinary actions against a caregiver or an entity accused of abuse, exploitation, fraud, neglect, misappropriation or mistreatment, when it appears to such court or administrative law judge that the person making the report is or may be a witness to facts relevant to the proceeding.
(2) The person's identity is irrelevant to any civil proceeding and is not subject to disclosure, except in cases where a caregiver or other person is the subject of a complaint and can make a showing that the complaint was made with malice so that the caregiver or other person may pursue such remedies as may be permitted by law. The person may be subpoenaed if the department or district attorney general deems it necessary to protect the service recipient who is the subject of the report, but the fact that the person made the report may not be disclosed.
History
T.C.A. § 33-3-104(10)(B); Acts 2000, ch. 947, § 1; 2002, ch. 730, § 12; 2011, ch. 158, § 16.
TENNESSEE CODE ANNOTATED
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