How to Find Out if Someone Was in a Mental Facility in the Past

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, is a policy for protecting a patient’s health information from inappropriate disclosure. Admittance to a mental hospital is sensitive information and can ruin a person’s reputation. The HIPAA rule applies to mental facilities and it is impossible to obtain mental health information without a court subpoena or a “release of information” form for the patient.

• Ask questions about past hospitalizations. Some people will share personal information when trying to help someone going through a similar situation. If the person is ashamed about being in a mental facility, then you will be met with resistance and the person will not be willing to be truthful.


• Talk to family members or friends. Loved ones who are close to the person will have knowledge about the person’s medical history. However, there is the possibility that family members and friends might not be willing to share the information. The reason for the question will determine how much information they are willing to share. If you are asking for the information because the person committed a violent act, then loved ones may be willing to expose the information.


• Get a court subpoena for the medical records. You will need good reasons to obtain a subpoena, such as the person being a danger to others or himself, if the person committed violence against someone or a request by the courts. The mental facility is required by law to release records when presented with a court order.


• Request the records from the mental hospital or the psychiatrist. This method only applies to a physician with the person as a patient. Physicians need to know past medical history to provide quality treatment for a patient, which is known as coordination of care. The information will not be released without the doctor releasing the name of the facility that he works for and a doctor’s license number.