Section 72I Filing of reports; confidentiality - Massachusetts Statutes

Section 72I. The department shall, subject to appropriation, maintain a file of the written reports prepared pursuant to sections 72G and 72H. The report submitted by the mandatory or nonmandatory reporter to the department and the report prepared by the department following its investigation shall be confidential.

The patient or resident or counsel therefor, the reporting person or agency, the appropriate professional board of registration or a social worker assigned to the case may, upon written request and the approval of the commissioner, receive a copy of the department’s written report.

The department’s written report shall not be made available to any person other than those authorized herein without the written, informed consent of the patient or resident or the written approval of the commissioner or an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

The reports prepared by the department shall contain no identifying information relating to a patient or resident.

A person who causes any information which is contained in the department’s files maintained pursuant to section 72I to be released without authorization to persons or agencies other than those specified in this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than two and one-half years, or both such fine and imprisonment.