Iowa Code § 228.6 - Compulsory disclosures

1. A mental health professional or an employee of or agent for a mental health facility may disclose mental health information if and to the extent necessary, to meet the requirements of section 229.24, 229.25, 230A.108,* 232.74, or 232.147, or to meet the compulsory reporting or disclosure requirements of other state or federal law relating to the protection of human health and safety. 2. Mental health information acquired by a mental health professional pursuant to a court-ordered examination may be disclosed pursuant to court rules. 3. Mental health information may be disclosed by a mental health professional if and to the extent necessary, to initiate or complete civil commitment proceedings under chapter 229. 4. a. Mental health information may be disclosed in a civil or administrative proceeding in which an individual eighteen years of age or older or an individual’s legal representative or, in the case of a deceased individual, a party claiming or defending through a beneficiary of the individual, offers the individual’s mental or emotional condition as an element of a claim or a defense. b. Mental health information may be disclosed in a criminal proceeding pursuant to section 622.10, subsection 4. 5. An individual eighteen years of age or older or an individual’s legal representative or any other party in a civil, criminal, or administrative action, in which mental health information has been or will be disclosed, may move the court to denominate, style, or caption the names of all parties as “JOHN OR JANE DOE” or otherwise protect the anonymity of all of the parties. 86 Acts, ch 1082, §6; 2011 Acts, ch 8, §1, 3; 2013 Acts, ch 90, §51; 2024 Acts, ch 1161, §71, 137 Referred to in §228.2, 237.21 *Section 230A.108 repealed by Acts, ch 1161, §1342024 Acts, ch 1161, §134; corrective legislation is pending 2024 amendment to subsection 1 effective July 1, 2025; 2024 Acts, ch 1161, §137 Subsection 1 amended