Subd. 1. Cooperation.

An unlicensed mental health practitioner who is the subject of an investigation, or who is questioned in connection with an investigation, by or on behalf of the Office of Mental Health Practice shall cooperate fully with the investigation. Cooperation includes responding fully and promptly to any question raised by or on behalf of the office relating to the subject of the investigation, whether tape recorded or not, and providing copies of client records, as reasonably requested by the office, to assist the office in its investigation, and appearing at conferences or hearings scheduled by the committee. If the office does not have a written consent from a client permitting access to the client's records, the unlicensed mental health practitioner shall delete any data in the record that identifies the client before providing it to the office. The office shall maintain any records obtained pursuant to this section as investigative data pursuant to section 13.41. If an unlicensed mental health practitioner refuses to give testimony or produce any documents, books, records, or correspondence on the basis of the fifth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the committee may compel the unlicensed mental health practitioner to provide the testimony or information; however, the testimony or evidence may not be used against the practitioner in any criminal proceeding. Challenges to requests of the office may be brought before the appropriate agency or court.

Subd. 2. Classification of data.

The committee shall maintain any records, other than client records, obtained as part of an investigation, as investigative data under section 13.41. Client records are classified as private under chapter 13 and must be protected as such in the records of the office and in any administrative or judicial proceeding unless the client authorizes the office in writing to make public the identity of the client or a portion or all of the client's records.

Subd. 3. Exchanging information.

1. (a) The Office of Mental Health Practice shall establish internal operating procedures for:

   1. (1) exchanging information with state boards; agencies, including the Office of Ombudsman for Mental Health and Mental Retardation; health related and law enforcement facilities; departments responsible for licensing health related occupations, facilities, and programs; and law enforcement personnel in this and other states; and
   2. (2) coordinating investigations involving matters within the jurisdiction of more than one regulatory agency.
2. (b) The procedures for exchanging information must provide for the forwarding to the entities described in paragraph (a), clause (1), of information and evidence, including the results of investigations, that are relevant to matters within the regulatory jurisdiction of the organizations in paragraph (a). The data have the same classification in the hands of the agency receiving the data as they have in the hands of the agency providing the data.
3. (c) The Office of Mental Health Practice shall establish procedures for exchanging information with other states regarding disciplinary action against licensed and unlicensed mental health practitioners.
4. (d) The Office of Mental Health Practice shall forward to another governmental agency any complaints received by the office that do not relate to the office's jurisdiction but that relate to matters within the jurisdiction of the other governmental agency. The agency to which a complaint is forwarded shall advise the Office of Mental Health Practice of the disposition of the complaint. A complaint or other information received by another governmental agency relating to a statute or rule that the Office of Mental Health Practice is empowered to enforce must be forwarded to the office to be processed in accordance with this section.

5. (e) The Office of Mental Health Practice shall furnish to a person who made a complaint a description of the actions of the office relating to the complaint.

   * NOTE: This section is repealed by Laws 2003, chapter 118, *section 29, paragraph (a), as amended by Laws 2004, chapter 279, *article 5, section 10, and Laws 2005, chapter 147, article 8, *section 3, effective July 1, 2009. Laws 2003, chapter 118, *section 29, paragraph (a), the effective date, as amended by *Laws 2004, chapter 279, article 5, section 10, and Laws 2005, *chapter 147, article 8, section 3.