No. CS/CS/SB 54
Filed under Healthcare.
Use of Substances Affecting Cognitive Function; Requiring medical examiners to take specified actions when performing an autopsy on a decedent who is a violent offender; requiring that autopsy reports for such individuals include certain findings and information; authorizing the release of certain patient records to law enforcement agencies without patient authorization under certain circumstances; requiring school safety specialists to provide school district staff with certain training on the adverse effects of specified substances, etc.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDHealth care providers, including mental health professionals, must turn over records to police investigating a suspected violent offender, with no requirement for patient consent, a subpoena, or a court order, and no textual limit to autopsy cases.
After an autopsy on someone suspected of deadly or seriously injurious violence, medical examiners must screen for psychotropic drugs and intoxicants and report findings to law enforcement, health regulators, and the Agency for Health Care Administration.
School safety specialists must train district staff to recognize and safely de-escalate students showing violent or suicidal behavior linked to drugs or psychotropic medication, and every safe-school officer must complete matching training.
AIA new subsection requires whoever holds a person's medical records to furnish their mental health and psychotropic-drug records to any law enforcement agency on request, overriding the state's normal patient-records confidentiality protections, when the person is suspected of engaging in unprovoked violence causing death or serious injury.
AIWhen a medical examiner's office autopsies a decedent suspected of unprovoked violence causing death or serious injury, the examiner must contact the decedent's mental health or primary care providers, run a toxicology screen, and report drug and psychotropic findings to state law enforcement, plus health regulators and AHCA when psychotropic drugs are found.
AISchool safety specialists must add training for district staff on the adverse effects of psychotropic drugs and intoxicating substances in students, including how to identify affected students and de-escalate encounters safely.
AIEvery safe-school officer, in addition to existing crisis-intervention training, must now also complete training on recognizing and safely de-escalating encounters with students affected by psychotropic drugs or intoxicating substances.