Section 571.012

Title XXXVIII CRIMES AND PUNISHMENT; PEACE OFFICERS AND PUBLIC DEFENDERS

Chapter 571

Effective - 28 Aug 2014   

  *571.012.  Health care professionals not required to disclose patient firearm information, when. — 1.  No health care professional licensed in this state, nor anyone under his or her supervision, shall be required by law to:

  (1)  Inquire as to whether a patient owns or has access to a firearm;

  (2)  Document or maintain in a patient's medical records whether such patient owns or has access to a firearm; or

  (3)  Notify any governmental entity of the identity of a patient based solely on the patient's status as an owner of, or the patient's access to, a firearm.

  2.  No health care professional licensed in this state, nor anyone under his or her supervision, nor any person or entity that has possession or control of medical records, may disclose information gathered in a doctor/patient relationship about the status of a patient as an owner of a firearm, unless by order of a court of appropriate jurisdiction, in response to a threat to the health or safety of that patient or another person, as part of a referral to a mental health professional, or with the patient's express consent on a separate document dealing solely with firearm ownership.  The separate document shall not be filled out as a matter of routine, but only when, in the judgment of the health care professional, it is medically indicated or necessitated.

  3.  Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting or otherwise restricting a health care professional from inquiring about and documenting whether a patient owns or has access to a firearm if such inquiry or documentation is necessitated or medically indicated by the health care professional's judgment and such inquiry or documentation does not violate any other state or federal law.

  4.  No health care professional licensed in this state shall use an electronic medical record program that requires, in order to complete and save a medical record, entry of data regarding whether a patient owns, has access to, or lives in a home containing a firearm.

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(L. 2014 S.B. 656)

*Effective 10-10-14, see § 21.250.  S.B. 656 was vetoed July 14, 2014. The veto was overridden on September 10, 2014.