No person who is committed to the Mississippi State Hospital or the East Mississippi State Hospital for treatment under the provisions of this chapter shall forfeit or be abridged thereby of any of his or her rights as a citizen of the United States or of the State of Mississippi. The records pertaining to any person committed to the Mississippi State Hospital or the East Mississippi State Hospital for treatment, care, guidance and rehabilitation shall be confidential, and the contents thereof shall not be divulged except on an order of a court of competent jurisdiction or a signed waiver by the person committed. However, information in regard to cancer about any such patients who might have cancer shall be provided to the state board of health as the official tumor registry agency, which information shall be used to provide statistical reports only. The agency shall not divulge any patient's name in regard to any case history nor statistical compilation.Codes, 1942, § 436-09; Laws, 1950, ch. 349, § 9; Laws, 1968, ch. 441, § 5, eff. 7/17/1968.
Mississippi Legal Code