2017 Oklahoma Statutes
Title 21. Crimes and Punishments
§21-142.9. Waiver of physician-patient privilege - Mental or physical examination – Reports - Advisory panel - Limiting compensation for treatment - Debt collection.
A. Any person filing a claim under the provisions of Section 142.1 et seq. of this title shall be deemed to have waived any physician-patient privilege as to communications or records relevant to an issue of the physical, mental or emotional conditions of the claimant.
B. If the mental, physical or emotional condition of a claimant is material to a claim, the Crime Victims Compensation Board upon good cause shown may order the claimant to submit to a mental or physical examination. The examination report shall set out the findings of the person making the report, including results of all tests made, diagnoses, prognoses and other conclusions and reports of earlier examinations of the same conditions.
C. The Board shall furnish a copy of the report examined. If the victim is deceased, the Board, on request, shall furnish a copy of the report to the claimant.
D. The Board may require the claimant to supply any additional medical or psychological reports available relating to the injury or death for which compensation is claimed.
E. In certain cases wherein mental health expenses are being claimed, the Board and Administrator may request assistance from a panel of professionals in the mental health field. The panel of professionals may only act in an advisory capacity to the Board.
F. The Board shall have the authority to set limits of compensation on any medical or mental health treatment, and require that providers of medical or mental health treatments be licensed prior to compensating for said treatment. Awards for all medical services shall not exceed eighty percent (80%) of the total cost of the service less any other reduction for contributory conduct, as determined by the Board. Any medical provider that receives payment from the Crime Victims Compensation Revolving Fund for medical, dental or psychological services, or any provider that supplies equipment pursuant to an award under the Oklahoma Crime Victims Compensation Act shall, as a condition of the receipt of such payment, accept such payment as discharging in full any and all obligations of the claimant to pay, reimburse or compensate the provider for medical services, supplies or equipment that have been reimbursed pursuant to the Oklahoma Crime Victims Compensation Act. In the event the claimant has paid for a medical service, the claimant will be reimbursed for the out-of-pocket loss, less any reductions for contributory conduct, as determined by the Board.
G. All records and information given to the Board to process a claim on behalf of a crime victim shall be confidential. Such exhibits, medical records, psychological records, counseling records, work records, criminal investigation records, criminal court case records, witness statements, telephone records, and other records of any type or nature whatsoever gathered for the purpose of evaluating whether to compensate a victim shall not be obtainable by any party to any civil or criminal action through any discovery process except:
1. In the event of an appeal under the Administrative Procedures Act from a decision of the Board and then only to the extent narrowly and necessarily to obtain court review; or
2. Upon a strict showing to the court in a separate civil or criminal action that particular information or documents are not obtainable after diligent effort from any independent source, and are known to exist otherwise only in Board records, the court may inspect in camera such records to determine whether the specific requested information exists. If the court determines the specific information sought exists in the Board’s records, the documents may then be released only by court order if the court finds as part of its order that the documents will not pose any threat to the safety of the victim or any other person whose identity may appear in the Board’s records.
H. When a person files a claim, all health care providers that have been given notice of a pending claim shall refrain from all debt collection activities relating to medical treatment received by the person in connection with such claim until an award is made on the claim or until a claim is determined to be noncompensable pursuant to the provisions of this act. The statute of limitations for collection of such debt shall be tolled during the period in which the applicable health care provider is required to refrain from debt collection activities under this subsection. For the purposes of this subsection, “debt collection activities” means repeatedly calling or writing to the claimant and threatening either to turn the matter over to a debt collection agency or to an attorney for collection, enforcement, or filing of other process. The term shall not include routine billing about the status of the claim.
Added by Laws 1981, c. 93, § 9. Amended by Laws 1993, c. 325, § 7, emerg. eff. June 7, 1993; Laws 1998, c. 410, § 3, eff. July 1, 1998; Laws 2004, c. 174, § 1, eff. July 1, 2004; Laws 2007, c. 171, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2007.
