The Florida Senate

641.59  Psychotherapeutic services; records and reports.--A health maintenance organization or prepaid health clinic, as defined in this chapter, must maintain strict confidentiality against unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure of confidential information to persons inside or outside the health maintenance organization or prepaid health clinic regarding psychotherapeutic services provided to subscribers by psychotherapists licensed under chapter 490 or chapter 491 and psychotherapeutic records and reports related to the services. A report, in lieu of records, may be submitted by a psychotherapist in support of the services. Such report must include clear statements summarizing the subscriber's presenting symptoms, what transpired in any provided therapy, what progress, if any, was made by the subscriber, and results obtained. However, the health maintenance organization or prepaid health clinic may require the records upon which the report is based, if the report does not contain sufficient information supporting the services. A psychotherapist submitting records in support of services may obscure portions to conceal the names, identities, or identifying information of people other than the subscriber if this information is unnecessary to utilization review, quality management, discharge planning, case management, or claims processing conducted by the health maintenance organization or prepaid health clinic. A health maintenance organization or prepaid health clinic may provide aggregate data which does not disclose subscriber identities or identities of other persons to entities such as payors, sponsors, researchers, and accreditation bodies.

History.--s. 1, ch. 96-180.