1. (a) The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman or designee shall have the sole authority to make or delegate determinations concerning the disclosure of the files, records, and other information maintained by the Arkansas Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program.

2. (b) The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman shall comply with Section 712(d) of the Older Americans Act, and implementing regulations, in responding to requests for disclosure of files, records, and other information, regardless of the:

   1. (1) Format of such file, record, or other information;
   2. (2) The source of the request; and
   3. (3) The sources of funding to the program.

3. (c)

   1. (1) Ombudsmen shall not disclose the identity of, or any information that would lead to the identification of, a resident or complainant involved in a complaint, report, or investigation, unless:

      1. (A) The individual or legal representative has consented to the disclosure; or
      2. (B) Such disclosure is required by a court order.
   2. (2) Consent may be made in writing, orally, visually, or through the use of auxiliary aids and services, and such consent shall be documented contemporaneously in the case notes by the ombudsman.
4. (d) The consent to disclose information shall be on forms developed by the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman and shall be properly signed and dated.
5. (e) The ombudsman shall make every effort to obtain written consent from the resident or resident representative.

6. (f)

   1. (1) When a request is made by any party for any program records containing resident information, the office shall be contacted immediately by the Regional Ombudsman or his or her designee.
   2. (2) Program records containing resident information may not be released or disclosed to anyone who is not a representative of the office without the written permission of the office.

7. (g) The office shall determine whether to disclose all or part of the records as follows:

   1. (1)

      1. (A) The office shall require that the request for program records be made in writing and will require a copy of the request before determining the appropriate response.
      2. (B) Where the request is made orally by a resident or resident representative, the request must be documented in the program case record by the ombudsman to whom the request was communicated in order to meet this requirement;
   2. (2) The office shall review the request with the relevant program staff to determine whether the release of all or part of the records would be consistent with the wishes or interest of the relevant resident;

   3. (3)

      1. (A) In consultation with the legal counsel, the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman or designee shall determine whether any part of the records should be redacted, i.e., all identifying information removed.
      2. (B) The identities of residents or complainants who have not provided express consent for the release of their names shall not be revealed;

   4. (4)

      1. (A) The office, in consultation with legal counsel, shall consider the source of the request, i.e., resident, resident representative, facility, complainant, another agency, or any other party, and the type of request, i.e., written request, Freedom of Information Act request, subpoena, court order, in determining whether to disclose all or any part of the records.
      2. (B)

8. (i) Requests coming from residents should generally be honored.

   1. (ii) The office may provide the resident copies of directly related records, and such records shall be redacted to protect the identity of other residents and complainants.

Codification Notes: 712(d) of the Older Americans Act is codified at 42 U.S.C. § 3058g(d).