Section 5328.8.

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, except as otherwise provided in this section, release information obtained in the course of providing services under Division 5 (commencing with Section 5000), Division 6 (commencing with Section 6000), or Division 7 (commencing with Section 7100), to the coroner when a patient dies from any cause, natural or otherwise, while hospitalized in a state mental hospital. 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 not release any notes, summaries, transcripts, tapes, or records of conversations between the patient and health professional personnel of the hospital relating to the personal life of the patient which is not related to the diagnosis and treatment of the patient's physical condition. Any information released to the coroner pursuant to this section shall remain confidential and shall be sealed and shall not be made part of the public record.

(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 24, Sec. 127. Effective June 27, 2012.)