The State Authorized Risk Assessment Tool for Sex Offenders (SARATSO) shall be administered by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to assess every eligible person who is incarcerated in state prison and every eligible person who is on parole if the person was not assessed prior to release from state prison). The Department of Mental Health shall administer the SARATSO to assess every eligible person who is committed to that department.
The Department of Justice is required to make information about registered sex offenders available online, including date of birth. (a)(3) The State Dept. of Mental Health shall provide to the Sex Offender Tracking Program the names of all offenders committed to or released from its custody.
If a county hospital requests an ambulance to transfer a mental health patient who is unstable and violent, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the director of the hospital shall inform the ambulance personnel of the instability and potential for violence of the mental health patient. The county hospital shall establish procedures as are necessary to assure that the required notifications are given and documented.
Consent forms for release of any information signed by the patient and for which patient consent is required must be obtained for each separate use. The form should indicate the use of information, the information to be released, to whom the information was released, and the name of the person authorized to release the information. The use of the form should be noted in the patient file and consenting patients should be given a copy of the consent form.
If a patient escapes from a hospital or facility, officers or employees of such hospital or facility shall provide any peace officer with any information concerning the escaped patient that is necessary to assist in the apprehension and return of the patient.
Information regarding escaped patient's name, reason for commitment, age, physical description, and any other information the facility director thinks will aid in escapee apprehension shall be released.
In the event of the death of hospitalized patient by any cause, the State Department of Mental Health, the physician in charge of the patient, or person in charge of the facility, shall release information acquired while providing services to the patient under Division 5, 6, or 7 to the coroner unless such disclosure is prohibited under this section. Information about the personal life of the patient that is unrelated to the diagnosis and treatment of the patient's physical condition shall not be released. Any information released to the coroner shall not become part of the public record.
Upon the request by a patient's family member or other designated person, the treatment facility shall disclose the patient's diagnosis, prognosis, medications proscribed, and any progress patient makes, if the patient authorizes such disclosure when notified of the request. This section does not require the photocopying of patient medical records.
If client authorization is obtained, a patients' rights advocate may share information contained in client records with the client, to the extent necessary to provide effective advocacy.
If a parolee's severe mental disorder is put in remission and can be maintained in remission, the Director of Mental Health shall notify the Board of Prison Terms and the Department of Mental Health shall discontinue treating the parolee.
