July 25, 2012

Ms. Angela Hahn

Records Coordinator

City of Brenham

P.O. Box 1059

Brenham, Texas 77831-1059

OR2012-11578

Dear Ms. Hahn:

You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under the Public Information Act (the "Act"), chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 464597.

The City of Brenham (the "city") received three requests for information regarding a fatality accident that occurred in August 2011. You state the city has released the police reports, accident report, photographs, autopsies, and toxicology reports. You claim that the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.101 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Gov't Code § 552.101. This exception encompasses information other statutes make confidential. Medical records are confidential under the Medical Practice Act (the "MPA"), subtitle B of title 3 of the Occupations Code. Section 159.002 of the MPA provides in part:

(b) A record of the identity, diagnosis, evaluation, or treatment of a patient by a physician that is created or maintained by a physician is confidential and privileged and may not be disclosed except as provided by this chapter.

(c) A person who receives information from a confidential communication or record as described by this chapter, other than a person listed in Section 159.004 who is acting on the patient's behalf, may not disclose the information except to the extent that disclosure is consistent with the authorized purposes for which the information was first obtained.

Occ. Code § 159.002(b)-(c). Medical records must be released on the patient's signed, written consent, provided that the consent specifies (1) the information to be covered by the release, (2) the reasons or purposes for the release, and (3) the person to whom the information is to be released. See Occ. Code §§ 159.004, .005. Any subsequent release of medical records must be consistent with the purposes for which the governmental body obtained the records. See id. § 159.002(c); Open Records Decision No. 565 at 7 (1990). Medical records may be released only as provided under the MPA. Open Records Decision No. 598 (1991). We agree that the submitted information constitutes medical records that are subject to the MPA. Therefore, the city must withhold this information under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 159.002 of the Occupations Code unless it receives written consent for the release of the records that complies with section 159.004 and 159.005 of the MPA. As our ruling is dispositive, we need not address your remaining argument against disclosure.

This letter ruling is limited to the particular information at issue in this request and limited to the facts as presented to us; therefore, this ruling must not be relied upon as a previous determination regarding any other information or any other circumstances.

This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the governmental body and of the requestor. For more information concerning those rights and responsibilities, please visit our website at http://www.oag.state.tx.us/open/index_orl.php, or call the Office of the Attorney General's Open Government Hotline, toll free, at (877) 673-6839. Questions concerning the allowable charges for providing public information under the Act must be directed to the Cost Rules Administrator of the Office of the Attorney General, toll free at (888) 672-6787.

Sincerely,

Jenny Mai

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

JM/sdk

Ref: ID# 464597

Enc. Submitted documents

c: 3 Requestors

(w/o enclosures)

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