22-45-9. Access to records by attorney general, state medicaid control unit, and grand jury. The attorney general and the state medicaid fraud control unit, upon reasonable request, and the grand jury, upon subpoena therefore, shall have full access to all records held by a provider or by any other person on his behalf, which could be relevant in any manner to the determination of the existence of offenses under §§ 22-45-2 to 22-45-6, inclusive, or related crimes, or the existence of patient abuse, mistreatment or neglect, or the theft of patient funds.

Upon issuance of a summons for such records, the grand jury shall take possession of the records for use by the grand jury and the attorney general in the investigation of offenses under this chapter and related crimes.

In examining such records, the attorney general and grand jury shall safeguard the privacy rights of recipients, avoiding unnecessary disclosure of personal information concerning named recipients. However, the attorney general may transmit such information as he deems appropriate to the single-state agency and to other agencies concerned of the regulation of health facilities or health professionals.

No persons holding such records may refuse to provide the attorney general or the grand jury with access to such records for the purposes described in this chapter on the basis that release would violate any recipient's right of privacy, any recipient's privileges against disclosure or use, or any professional or other privilege right.

Source: SL 1986, ch 187, § 9.