Access to records by the Office of Public and Professional Guardians; confidentiality.

(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any medical, financial, or mental health records held by an agency, or the court and its agencies, or financial audits prepared by the clerk of the court pursuant to s. 744.368 and held by the court, which are necessary as part of an investigation of a guardian as a result of a complaint filed with the Office of Public and Professional Guardians to evaluate the public guardianship system, to assess the need for additional public guardianship, or to develop required reports, shall be provided to the Office of Public and Professional Guardians or its designee upon that office’s request. Any confidential or exempt information provided to the Office of Public and Professional Guardians shall continue to be held confidential or exempt as otherwise provided by law.

(2) In conducting an investigation, the Office of Public and Professional Guardians may issue subpoenas duces tecum to financial institutions, insurance companies, the ward’s caregivers, any facility at which the ward resides or has resided, and the professional guardian or employees to compel the production of records relevant to the investigation conducted by the office.

(3) If there is substantial noncompliance with a subpoena duces tecum issued by the office, the office may petition the court in the county in which the person resides or has resided or his place of business for an order requiring the person to produce such records as specified in the subpoena duces tecum.

(4) All records held by the Office of Public and Professional Guardians relating to the medical, financial, or mental health of vulnerable adults as defined in chapter 415, persons with a developmental disability as defined in chapter 393, or persons with a mental illness as defined in chapter 394, shall be confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.