2009 California Penal Code - Section 11174.4-11174.9 :: Article 2.7. Elder Death Review Teams

11174.4.  The following definitions shall govern the construction of
this article, unless the context requires otherwise:
   (a) "Elder" means any person who is 65 years of age or older.
   (b) (1) "Abuse" means any of the conduct described in Article 2
(commencing with Section 15610) of Chapter 11 of Part 3 of Division 9
of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
   (2) Abuse does not include the use of any reasonable and necessary
force that may result in an injury used by a peace officer acting
within the course of his or her employment as a peace officer.

11174.5.  (a) Each county may establish an interagency elder death
team to assist local agencies in identifying and reviewing suspicious
elder deaths and facilitating communication among persons who
perform autopsies and the various persons and agencies involved in
elder abuse or neglect cases.
   (b) Each county may develop a protocol that may be used as a
guideline by persons performing autopsies on elder adults to assist
coroners and other persons who perform autopsies in the
identification of elder abuse, in the determination of whether elder
abuse or neglect contributed to death or whether elder abuse or
neglect had occurred prior to but was not the actual cause of death,
and in the proper written reporting procedures for elder abuse or
neglect, including the designation of the cause and mode of death.

11174.6.  County elder death review teams may be comprised of, but
not limited to, the following:
   (a) Experts in the field of forensic pathology.
   (b) Medical personnel with expertise in elder abuse and neglect.
   (c) Coroners and medical examiners.
   (d) District attorneys and city attorneys.
   (e) County or local staff including, but not limited to:
   (1) Adult protective services staff.
   (2) Public administrator, guardian, and conservator staff.
   (3) County health department staff who deal with elder health
issues.
   (4) County counsel.
   (f) County and state law enforcement personnel.
   (g) Local long-term care ombudsman.
   (h) Community care licensing staff and investigators.
   (i) Geriatric mental health experts.
   (j) Criminologists.
   (k) Representatives of local agencies that are involved with
oversight of adult protective services and reporting elder abuse or
neglect.
   (l) Local professional associations of persons described in
subdivisions (a) to (k), inclusive.

11174.7.  (a) An oral or written communication or a document shared
within or produced by an elder death review team related to an elder
death review is confidential and not subject to disclosure or
discoverable by another third party.
   (b) An oral or written communication or a document provided by a
third party to an elder death review team, or between a third party
and an elder death review team, is confidential and not subject to
disclosure or discoverable by a third party.
   (c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), recommendations of
an elder death review team upon the completion of a review may be
disclosed at the discretion of a majority of the members of the elder
death review team.

11174.8.  (a) Each organization represented on an elder death review
team may share with other members of the team information in its
possession concerning the decedent who is the subject of the review
or any person who was in contact with the decedent and any other
information deemed by the organization to be pertinent to the review.
Any information shared by an organization with other members of a
team is confidential. The intent of this subdivision is to permit the
disclosure to members of the team of any information deemed
confidential, privileged, or prohibited from disclosure by any other
provision of law.
   (b) (1) Written and oral information may be disclosed to an elder
death review team established pursuant to this section. The team may
make a request in writing for the information sought and any person
with information of the kind described in paragraph (3) may rely on
the request in determining whether information may be disclosed to
the team.
   (2) No individual or agency that has information governed by this
subdivision shall be required to disclose information. The intent of
this subdivision is to allow the voluntary disclosure of information
by the individual or agency that has the information.
   (3) The following information may be disclosed pursuant to this
subdivision:
   (A) Notwithstanding Section 56.10 of the Civil Code, medical
information.
   (B) Notwithstanding Section 5328 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, mental health information.
   (C) Notwithstanding Section 15633.5 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, information from elder abuse reports and
investigations, except the identity of persons who have made reports,
which shall not be disclosed.
   (D) State summary criminal history information, criminal offender
record information, and local summary criminal history information,
as defined in Sections 11075, 11105, and 13300.
   (E) Notwithstanding Section 11163.2, information pertaining to
reports by health practitioners of persons suffering from physical
injuries inflicted by means of a firearm or of persons suffering
physical injury where the injury is a result of assaultive or abusive
conduct.
   (F) Information provided to probation officers in the course of
the performance of their duties, including, but not limited to, the
duty to prepare reports pursuant to Section 1203.10, as well as the
information on which these reports are based.
   (G) Notwithstanding Section 10825 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, records relating to in-home supportive services, unless
disclosure is prohibited by federal law.
   (c) Written and oral information may be disclosed under this
section notwithstanding Sections 2263, 2918, 4982, and 6068 of the
Business and Professions Code, the lawyer-client privilege protected
by Article 3 (commencing with Section 950) of Chapter 4 of Division 8
of the Evidence Code, the physician-patient privilege protected by
Article 6 (commencing with Section 990) of Chapter 4 of Division 8 of
the Evidence Code, and the psychotherapist-patient privilege
protected by Article 7 (commencing with Section 1010) of Chapter 4 of
Division 8 of the Evidence Code.

11174.9.  Information gathered by the elder death review team and
any recommendations made by the team shall be used by the county to
develop education, prevention, and if necessary, prosecution
strategies that will lead to improved coordination of services for
families and the elder population.