Under Mississippi law, hospital records and information pertaining to patients treated by a physician, psychologist, licensed master social worker, or licensed professional counselor at a treatment facility are confidential and may be released only under specified circumstances. Which of the following is one of those specified exceptions?
A. Upon written authorization of the patient
B. To any marketing company that requests the records for research purposes
C. Whenever any hospital employee believes release would be convenient
D. Automatically to any family member who requests the records by phone
Show answer and reasoning
Correct answer: A. Upon written authorization of the patient
Correct. Miss. Code Ann. § 41-21-97 lists written authorization of the patient as one of the specific circumstances under which otherwise confidential hospital and treatment records may be released.
- B: Release to a marketing company for research is not among the statute's enumerated exceptions and would not satisfy the confidentiality requirement.
- C: General employee convenience is not a recognized statutory exception; release is limited to the enumerated circumstances.
- D: A telephone request from a family member, without patient authorization or another statutory basis, is not a recognized exception under this section.
Source: Miss. Code Ann. § 41-21-97
Under Mississippi Code § 41-21-97, a treating physician, psychologist, licensed master social worker, or licensed professional counselor may release otherwise confidential patient records without the patient's written authorization when the patient has communicated:
A. A request to switch to a different treating physician
B. An actual threat of physical violence against a clearly identified or reasonably identifiable potential victim
C. Dissatisfaction with a billing statement
D. A general complaint about hospital cafeteria food
Show answer and reasoning
Correct answer: B. An actual threat of physical violence against a clearly identified or reasonably identifiable potential victim
Correct. Section 41-21-97 permits release without patient authorization when the patient has communicated to the treating professional an actual threat of physical violence against a clearly identified or reasonably identifiable potential victim, consistent with Mississippi's duty-to-warn exception.
- A: A request to change physicians does not, by itself, trigger a confidentiality exception under this statute.
- C: A billing dispute is an administrative matter and is not one of the statute's enumerated grounds for disclosure without authorization.
- D: A cafeteria complaint has no bearing on the confidentiality-exception analysis under this statute.
Source: Miss. Code Ann. § 41-21-97
Under Mississippi's Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse Prevention, Control and Treatment law, the registration and other records of services by an approved treatment facility remain confidential. To whom may such records be disclosed without the patient's consent?
A. Any local news outlet reporting on substance abuse trends
B. Any insurance company marketing unrelated products
C. Treatment personnel for use in connection with the patient's treatment
D. Any employer who requests the records for a background check
Show answer and reasoning
Correct answer: C. Treatment personnel for use in connection with the patient's treatment
Correct. Section 41-30-33 permits disclosure without patient consent to treatment personnel for use in connection with the patient's treatment, and to counsel representing the person in related commitment proceedings.
- A: Disclosure to media outlets is not authorized by Section 41-30-33 absent patient consent.
- B: Marketing-related disclosure to an insurer is not among the statute's narrow consent-free disclosure categories.
- D: An employer background-check request is not a recognized basis for disclosure without consent under this statute.
Source: Miss. Code Ann. § 41-30-33
Under Mississippi Code § 41-30-33, a court may order disclosure of confidential substance abuse treatment records for purposes unrelated to treatment. What standard must the court apply before ordering such disclosure?
A. The court must automatically grant any subpoena without review
B. The court may only order disclosure if the patient has been deceased for at least ten years
C. No standard applies; any interested party may obtain the records upon request
D. The court must weigh the need for the information against the possible harm of disclosure to the person to whom the information pertains, finding good cause
Show answer and reasoning
Correct answer: D. The court must weigh the need for the information against the possible harm of disclosure to the person to whom the information pertains, finding good cause
Correct. Section 41-30-33 requires the court, upon an application showing good cause, to weigh the need for the information to be disclosed against the possible harm of disclosure to the person to whom the information pertains before ordering release for non-treatment purposes.
- A: The statute requires a good-cause balancing analysis; it does not authorize automatic release upon subpoena.
- B: No ten-year-deceased threshold appears in the statute.
- C: The statute imposes a specific court-ordered, good-cause standard; records are not available to any interested party simply upon request.
Source: Miss. Code Ann. § 41-30-33
Under Mississippi's data breach notification statute, within what specific number of days after discovering a breach of security involving personal information must a business notify affected Mississippi residents?
A. The statute does not set a fixed day count; it requires disclosure without unreasonable delay, subject to completion of an investigation into the breach's nature and scope
B. Ninety (90) days from discovery, per a fixed statutory deadline
C. Five (5) business days from discovery, per a fixed statutory deadline
D. Sixty (60) days from discovery, per a fixed statutory deadline
Show answer and reasoning
Correct answer: A. The statute does not set a fixed day count; it requires disclosure without unreasonable delay, subject to completion of an investigation into the breach's nature and scope
Correct. Miss. Code Ann. § 75-24-29 requires disclosure of a breach of security to affected individuals without unreasonable delay, subject to the completion of an investigation to determine the nature and scope of the incident, rather than imposing a fixed day count.
- B: A fixed 90-day deadline is not the standard set by Mississippi's statute.
- C: A fixed five-business-day deadline is not the standard set by Mississippi's statute.
- D: A fixed 60-day deadline is the standard used by several other states' breach laws, but it is not the standard Mississippi's statute uses.
Source: Miss. Code Ann. § 75-24-29
