(a) The State Department of State Hospitals, the physician in charge of the patient, or the professional person in charge of the facility or his or her designee, shall release the patient’s medical record to a medical examiner, forensic pathologist, or coroner, upon request, when a patient dies from any cause, natural or otherwise, while hospitalized in a state mental hospital. Except for the purposes included in paragraph (8) of subdivision (b) of § 56.10 of the Civil Code, a medical examiner, forensic pathologist, or coroner shall not disclose any information contained in the medical record obtained pursuant to this subdivision without a court order or authorization pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (c) of § 56.11 of the Civil Code.

(b) A health facility, as defined in § 1250 of the Health and Safety Code, a health or behavioral health facility or clinic, and the physician in charge of the patient shall release the patient’s medical record to a medical examiner, forensic pathologist, or coroner, upon request, when a patient dies from any cause, natural or otherwise. Except for the purposes included in paragraph (8) of subdivision (b) of § 56.10 of the Civil Code, a medical examiner, forensic pathologist, or coroner shall not disclose any information contained in the medical record obtained pursuant to this subdivision without a court order or authorization pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (c) of § 56.11 of the Civil Code.

(c) For purposes of this section, a reference to a “medical examiner, forensic pathologist, or coroner” means a coroner or deputy coroner, as described in subdivision (c) of § 830.35 of the Penal Code, or a licensed physician who currently performs official autopsies on behalf of a county coroner’s office or a medical examiner’s office, whether as a government employee or under contract to that office.

(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 690, Sec. 3. (AB 2119) Effective January 1, 2017.)