(A)

(1) Except as required by court order, as necessary for the administration or enforcement of any statute relating to nursing facilities, or as provided in division (C) of this section, the department of medicaid and any contracting agency shall not release any of the following information without the permission of the individual or the individual's legal representative:

(a) The identity of any resident of a nursing facility;

(b) The identity of any individual who submits a complaint about a nursing facility;

(c) The identity of any individual who provides the department or agency with information about a nursing facility and has requested confidentiality;

(d) Any information that reasonably would tend to disclose the identity of any individual described in division (A)(1)(a) to (c) of this section.

(2) An agency or individual to whom the department or contracting agency is required, by court order or for the administration or enforcement of a statute relating to nursing facilities, to release information described in division (A)(1) of this section shall not release the information without the permission of the individual who would be or would reasonably tend to be identified, or of the individual's legal representative, unless the agency or individual is required to release it by division (C) of this section, by court order, or for the administration or enforcement of a statute relating to nursing facilities.

(B) Except as provided in division (C) of this section, any record that identifies an individual described in division (A)(1) of this section or that reasonably would tend to identify such an individual is not a public record for the purposes of section 149.43 of the Revised Code, and is not subject to inspection and copying under section 1347.08 of the Revised Code.

(C) If the department or a contracting agency, or an agency or individual to whom the department or contracting agency was required by court order or for administration or enforcement of a statute relating to nursing facilities to release information described in division (A)(1) of this section, uses information in any administrative or judicial proceeding against a facility that reasonably would tend to identify an individual described in division (A)(1) of this section, the department, agency, or individual shall disclose that information to the facility. However, the department, agency, or individual shall not disclose information that directly identifies an individual described in divisions (A)(1)(a) to (c) of this section, unless the individual is to testify in the proceedings.

(D) No person shall knowingly register a false complaint about a nursing facility with the department or a contracting agency, or knowingly swear or affirm the truth of a false complaint, when the allegation is made for the purpose of incriminating another.

Renumbered from § 5111.61 by 130th General Assembly File No. 25, HB 59, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2013.

Effective Date: 07-01-2000 .