Mental hospital deaths to be disclosed

Gov. Beverly Perdue signed a new law today to require public disclosure of information about those who die in state mental hospitals and other state facilities.

The governor had proposed new laws to shed more light on deaths at state facilities during Sunshine Week last March, Rob Christensen reports.

"This legislation puts the safety of our patients first by ensuring that important information in death records is available to the public," Perdue said in a statement. "By increasing transparency, we will make state facilities more accountable to the people in their care, restore public confidence and rebuild public trust."

This is the second law that was prompted by a series published in The News & Observer last year that outlined abuses in the state mental health system. The other law required that deaths in state facilities be reported to the medical examiner.

More after the jump.

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The law signed by Perdue Friday reverses a policy in the state Department of Health and Human Services. The agency has argued that a little-known patient privacy statute specifically exempts state hospitals from releasing most information about patient deaths.

The new law will require the disclosure of the name sex, age and date of birth of the deceased; the name of the facility providing the report; the date, time and location of the death; a brief description of the circumstances of death, including the manner of death if known; and a list of all entities to whom the event was reported.

"More disclosure can shine a light on problems and help ensure patients' safety," said Attorney General Roy Cooper, who supported the legislation. "Our investigators and prosecutors will continue to enforce the law against those who abuse patients in state facilities."