Overdose Fatality Review Teams

Section § 11675

This law allows counties in California, or regional groups of counties, to set up teams to review overdose deaths. These teams help local agencies identify overdose deaths, improve communication among those dealing with these cases, and strengthen efforts to prevent overdoses through strategic planning and shared information.

The law also lets counties create standard procedures for examining bodies after an overdose to help determine if drugs were involved in the death. These procedures may include guidelines for reporting the cause and manner of death in writing.

(a) A county or regional group of counties may establish an interagency overdose fatality review team to assist local agencies in identifying and reviewing overdose fatalities, facilitate communication among the various persons and agencies involved in overdose fatalities, and integrate local overdose prevention efforts through strategic planning, data dissemination, and community collaboration.

(b) A county may develop standardized protocols for postmortem examinations involving an overdose to assist coroners and other persons who perform postmortem examinations in determining whether drugs contributed to a death or were the actual cause of death. The protocols may establish written reporting procedures, including the proper designation of the cause and mode of death.

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Section § 11676

This section explains who can be part of an overdose fatality review team. It includes professionals from different backgrounds, such as forensic pathologists, medical experts in overdose, coroners, district and city attorneys. Additionally, it includes county or local staff like behavioral and emergency health services, law enforcement personnel, drug trafficking specialists, and public and behavioral health experts. The team may also have drug treatment providers and representatives from organizations that help those at high risk of overdose, as well as forensic toxicology experts.

An overdose fatality review team may be comprised of, but not limited to, all of the following:

(a) Experts in the field of forensic pathology.

(b) Medical personnel with expertise in overdose fatalities.

(c) Coroners and medical examiners.

(d) District attorneys and city attorneys.

(e) County or local staff, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Behavioral health services staff.

(2) County counsel.

(3) Emergency medical services staff.

(4) Unhoused services staff.

(5) Medical care services staff.

(6) Medical examiner staff.

(7) Public health staff.

(f) County, local, state, and federal law enforcement personnel.

(g) Local drug trafficking experts.

(h) Public health or behavioral health experts.

(i) Drug treatment providers.

(j) Representatives of local health plans, nonprofits, religious, or other organizations who work with individuals at high risk of overdose fatalities.

(k) Local professional associations of persons described in this subdivision.

(l) Experts in the field of forensic toxicology.

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Section § 11677

This law explains that any communication or documents related to an overdose fatality review are confidential and cannot be shared with outside parties.

The confidentiality covers both documents created by the review team and those provided to the team by others. However, once the review is complete, the team can choose to disclose their recommendations if the majority agrees.

(a) An oral or written communication or a document shared within or produced by an overdose fatality review team related to an overdose fatality review is confidential and not subject to disclosure or discovery by a third party.

(b) An oral or written communication or a document provided by a third party to an overdose fatality review team, or between a third party and an overdose fatality review team, is confidential and not subject to disclosure or discovery by a third party.

(c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), recommendations of an overdose fatality review team, upon the completion of a review, may be disclosed at the discretion of a majority of the members of the overdose fatality review team.

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Section § 11678

This law allows organizations involved in an overdose fatality review team to share information they have about the deceased person with other team members. This could include details from people who knew the deceased or any other relevant information.

Importantly, any information shared among team members must remain confidential.

An organization represented on an overdose fatality review team may share information in its possession concerning the decedent who is the subject of the review, information received from a person who was in contact with the decedent, or other information deemed by the organization to be pertinent to the review with other members of the team. Information shared by an organization with other members of a team is confidential.

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Section § 11679

This law requires healthcare providers and certain entities to give specific information to a county's overdose fatality review team about individuals involved in overdose cases. This includes health information, mental health records (excluding psychotherapy notes), and substance use disorder records within legal limits. The purpose is to aid in reviews aimed at understanding and preventing overdose deaths. It allows sharing criminal history, offender records, and probation officer reports when necessary for these reviews.

(a) Consistent with paragraph (9) of subdivision (b) of Section 56.10 of the Civil Code, a provider of health care, as defined in Section 56.05 of the Civil Code, or a covered entity, as defined in Section 160.103 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations, shall provide to the members of the county overdose fatality review team any information, including protected health information, and mental health records excluding psychotherapy notes, in its possession that is directly related to the review authorized under Section 11675 about the individual involved in the case. The provision of information under this subdivision is a disclosure required by law, which may be made only to the extent permitted under subdivision (a) of Section 164.512 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The information disclosed shall include substance use disorder patient records only to the extent permitted by Part 2 (commencing with Section 2.1) of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(b) The following additional information, only to the extent required for carrying out the reviews authorized by this division, may be disclosed:

(1) State summary criminal history information, as defined in Section 11105 of the Penal Code, criminal offender record information, as defined in Section 11075 of the Penal Code, and local summary criminal history information, as defined in Section 13300 of the Penal Code.

(2) Information provided to probation officers in the course of the performance of their duties, including, but not limited to, the duty to prepare reports pursuant to Section 1203.10 of the Penal Code, as well as the information on which these reports are based.

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Section § 11680

This law states that information and recommendations from a county's overdose fatality review team should be used to create strategies for education, prevention, and intervention to improve treatment services and prevent future overdose deaths.

Additionally, these teams can share information with other counties and state agencies for the same purposes, but any communications or documents shared remain confidential and are not subject to disclosure to third parties.

(a) Information gathered, and recommendations made, by an overdose fatality review team shall be used by the county to develop education, prevention, and intervention strategies that will lead to improved coordination of treatment services and prevent future overdose deaths.

(b) Overdose fatality review teams may share the same information and recommendations with overdose fatality review teams in other counties and state agencies for purposes of education, prevention, and intervention strategies that will lead to improved coordination of treatment services and prevent future overdose deaths. An oral or written communication or a document provided by a county overdose fatality review team to another county overdose fatality review team or to a state agency is confidential and not subject to disclosure or discovery by a third party.

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