N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 14 § 524.9 - Records Maintenance and Confidentiality of Incident Management Programs at Facilities Operated by Office of Mental Health

This regulation sets forth certain guidelines for the care of patients involved in a reportable incidents and the investigation process.  The regulation requires that incident management programs include procedures for documenting the occurrence of incidents, and results of all examinations and investigations.  The regulation specifies that these incident-related documents are confidential quality assurance documents and they must be maintained separately from the patient’s clinical record.  The regulation allows recording of any description of clinical impact of incident in the patient’s clinical record.
 
With respect to the final reports, the regulation requires that:

• The results of the investigation be summarized in a written final investigation report, describing the methods and procedures, summarizing the interviews and evidence, and describing how conclusions were reached
• For all incidents accepted by the Vulnerable Persons’ Central Register, providers must submit investigative findings to the office, which will then submit them to the justice center.  All other incidents’ investigative reports need only be submitted to the office of mental health.
• The final reports be submitted in a form specified by the justice center and the office, and that they be submitted within 45 days of acceptance of incident report of abuse/neglect, and within 50 days of acceptance of incident report of any other significant incident

The regulation further requires that all documents, reports and information obtained during the course of the investigation are to be maintained confidentially and that they must not be used or disclosed except as allowed by federal and state laws and regulations.  The regulation requires that the privacy of patients and anyone else involved or identified in the reports be maintained.