Connecticut General Statutes
Chapter 319i - Persons with Psychiatric Disabilities
Section 17a-548. (Formerly Sec. 17-206i). - Patient's rights re clothing, possessions, money and access to records. List of rights to be posted.

(a) Any patient shall be permitted to wear his or her own clothes; to keep and use personal possessions including toilet articles; to be present during any search of his or her personal possessions, except a patient hospitalized in the maximum security service of Whiting Forensic Hospital when such search is conducted by police officers and probable cause exists that contraband or hazardous items are hidden in the patient's living area; to have access to individual storage space for such possessions; and in such manner as determined by the facility to spend a reasonable sum of his or her own money for canteen expenses and small purchases. These rights shall be denied only if the superintendent, director or his or her authorized representative determines that it is medically harmful to the patient to exercise such rights. An explanation of such denial shall be placed in the patient's permanent clinical record.

(b) In connection with any litigation related to hospitalization, or at any time following discharge from the facility, any patient or his or her attorney shall have the right, upon written request, to inspect all of such patient's hospital records, and to make copies thereof. Unless the request is made in connection with any litigation related to hospitalization, a mental health facility, as defined in subdivision (5) of section 52-146d, may refuse to disclose any portion of a patient's record which the mental health facility determines: (1) Would create a substantial risk that the patient would inflict life-threatening injury to self or to others or experience a severe deterioration in mental state; (2) would constitute an invasion of privacy of another person; or (3) would violate an assurance of confidentiality furnished to another person, provided only such portion of the record the disclosure of which would not constitute an invasion of privacy of another person or violate an assurance of confidentiality furnished to another person shall be disclosed. Any patient aggrieved by a facility's refusal to disclose under this subsection may petition the Superior Court for relief in the same manner as a patient proceeding under section 4-105, except that in addition to notice and a hearing, the court may conduct an in camera review of the record. The court shall order disclosure of the record by such facility unless the court determines that the disclosure (A) would create a substantial risk that the patient would inflict life-threatening injury to self or to others or experience a severe deterioration in mental state, or (B) would constitute an invasion of privacy of another person, or (C) would violate an assurance of confidentiality furnished to another person, provided if the court orders disclosure of the record, only such portion of the record the disclosure of which would not constitute an invasion of privacy of another person or violate an assurance of confidentiality furnished to another person shall be disclosed.
(c) A list of all in-hospital rights shall be prominently posted in each ward where mental health services are provided. Such list shall include, but not be limited to, the right to leave, as afforded by subsection (a) of section 17a-506, the right to a hearing, as afforded by subsection (d) of section 17a-502, and the right to file a complaint, as afforded by the hospital's complaint procedure.
(d) Nothing in subsection (b) of this section shall limit a patient's right of access to his records under section 4-104.
(1971, P.A. 834, S. 9; P.A. 78-219, S. 4; P.A. 79-389, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-119; P.A. 95-257, S. 20, 58; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-8, S. 80, 88; P.A. 98-18; P.A. 18-86, S. 32; P.A. 21-75, S. 1.)
History: P.A. 78-219 wholly replaced previous provisions which had protected patients' communication rights, now incorporated as Subsec. (f) of Sec. 17-206h; P.A. 79-389 added provisions in Subsec. (b) re valid reasons for nondisclosure of record and court decision on validity of facility's refusal to disclose record and added Subsec. (d); Sec. 17-206i transferred to Sec. 17a-548 in 1991; P.A. 93-119 amended Subsec. (a) to permit patients to be present during any search of personal possessions except for patients in Whiting Forensic Institute; P.A. 95-257 substituted “Whiting Forensic Division” for “Whiting Forensic Institute”, effective July 1, 1995; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-8 amended Subsec. (b) to specify definition of mental health facility, to replace medically harmful with substantial risk language and to limit disclosure of records, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-18 expanded Subsec. (c) to specifically include rights to leave, to a hearing and to file a complaint; P.A. 18-86 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing provision re exception for patients hospitalized in Whiting Forensic Division with provision re exception for a patient hospitalized in the maximum security service of Whiting Forensic Hospital, and making technical changes, effective June 4, 2018; P.A. 21-75 amended Subsec. (a) by adding provision re search conducted by police officers and probable cause to exception for patients hospitalized in maximum security service of Whiting Forensic Hospital.

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