Medical and veterinary records are different from autopsy/necropsy reports. State supreme court says autopsy reports are public information.
1. HIPAA
Georgia’s Attorney General has officially opined that HIPAA does not prevent the release of information on copies of death certificates about the cause of death of an individual, as well as conditions leading to the person’s death and information concerning surgical proceedings, if any, conducted on the deceased.
Ga. Opp. Atty. Gen. No. 07-4 (2007).
A. Autopsy and coroners reports
The Act does not exempt autopsy or coroners’ reports.
See Kilgore v. R. W. Page Corp., 259 Ga. 556, 385 S.E.2d 406 (1989) (Act applies to the office of coroner). However, the code otherwise specifically forbids the release of any autopsy photographs or images by hospitals without written permission of the next of kin. O.C.G.A. § 45-16-27(d). But in closed criminal investigations a superior court may find that the public interest in disclosure outweighs any privacy interest asserted by the deceased’s next of kin and permit such photographs to be disclosed.
Id.
Open Government Guide Georgia - Reporters Committee
