50-16-526. Patient authorization to health care provider for disclosure. (1) A patient may authorize a health care provider to disclose the patient's health care information. A health care provider shall honor an authorization and, if requested, provide a copy of the recorded health care information unless the health care provider denies the patient access to health care information under 50-16-542.

(2) A health care provider may charge a reasonable fee, not to exceed the fee provided for in 50-16-540, and is not required to honor an authorization until the fee is paid.

(3) To be valid, a disclosure authorization to a health care provider must:

(a) be in writing, dated, and signed by the patient;

(b) identify the nature of the information to be disclosed; and

(c) identify the person to whom the information is to be disclosed.

(4) Except as provided by this part, the signing of an authorization by a patient is not a waiver of any rights a patient has under other statutes, the Montana Rules of Evidence, or common law.