The registrar of a mental health facility need not state specific public policy reasons for deny the medical records request of a patient currently under treatment.
Donald Savinski, a "sexually violent person" committed to state custody for in-patient mental health treatment at the Wisconsin Resource Center (WRC), sent a request to WRC Registrar Karren Kimble for all open records;
1. concerning any WRC patients' complaining about Savinski trying to dissuade them from taking treatment; -
2. concerning Savinski's putting a "compliance hold" on fellow patients;
3. indicating that Savinski tried to undermine the treatment of any particular sex offender; or showing that Savinski had to take sex offender treatment against his will.
Kimble denied the request, providing no explanation other than a citation to W.S.A. § 51.30(4)(d)1 of Wisconsin's Mental Health Act and Wis. Admin. Code § 92.05(1). Savinski then successfully petitioned the trial court for a writ of mandamus.
However, the court subsequently quashed the writ, pursuant to a challenge from Kimble and WRC Director Phillip Macht. Asserting that access to the records might allow Savinski to coerce, intimidate or harass the staff or other patients, Macht further maintained that Savinski's failure to submit the request through his social worker and treatment team in accordance with WRC policy exhibited an active resistance to treatment.
Savinski appealed, arguing that every denial of access to a public record must be accompanied by specific public policy reasons for the refusal.
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals affirmed. Where the information requested is covered by an open records law exemption that does not itself require a balancing of public interests for or against disclosure, a citation to the exempting provision suffices.
The provisions Kimble cited authorized WRC to consider Savinski's request simply by balancing the benefits to the patient of allowing access against the disadvantages to Savinski, other patients and the facility. Therefore, Kimble's response was appropriate.
