Confidentiality requirements depend on the type of MDT and the purpose of the meeting. The fact that professionals are participating in an adult protection MDT does not, by itself, create authority to share confidential information.
In North Carolina, Statutory Case Review MDTs formed under G.S. 108A-118.2 are specifically authorized under to review certain cases involving older and disabled adults and may share relevant confidential, case-specific information about those cases (see G.S. 108A‑118.6) when the MDT is established and operated in compliance with statutory requirements. This authority to share confidential information with other MDT members terminates when a case is no longer an active case in which a disabled adult or older adult is being served by adult protective services through a local department of social services.
For Limited Case Review MDTs, discussion of cases must be anonymized unless participation is limited to professionals legally authorized to share confidential information with each other or the client has provided informed consent for all participating professionals to disclose information to each other. Discussing anonymized cases can be difficult to do in a way that both protects client confidentiality and preserves meaningful case details, making it a challenging aspect of this model.
Systemic Review MDTs focus on improving systems, collaboration, and community responses rather than reviewing individual cases. Like Limited Case Review MDTs, these teams should avoid discussing identifiable client information and instead use de-identified, hypothetical, or generalized examples to support systems-level problem solving.
Confidentiality agreements or MOUs between MDT members do not create new authority to share confidential information or override applicable state and federal confidentiality laws. All MDT members remain responsible for complying with the laws that apply to their own agencies or the information they hold, and should consult legal counsel when questions about information sharing arise.
