# How should break-glass (emergency) access to restricted mental health records work?

URL: https://tymirahealth.com/resources/faqs/how-should-break-glass-emergency-access-to-restricted-mental-health-records-work
For: Digital health teams | Digital health and technology | Reviewed by Independent clinical reviewer, Registered mental health clinician, Kenya | Last reviewed 8 November 2026

**Answer:** Break-glass lets an authorised clinician override normal access controls in a genuine emergency. Good designs require the user to state a reason, grant time-limited access only to what is needed, alert the record owner or privacy lead, and log every action for mandatory review afterwards. Restrict who can break glass, and treat unjustified use as a disciplinary matter. Kenya's Digital Health Regulations require role-based access and audit trails; FHIR security labels and confidentiality codes can mark restricted content so the override is enforced consistently across systems.

Sources: Kenya Law: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/act/ln/2025/76/eng@2025-04-11 - HL7 International: https://hl7.org/fhir/R4/security-labels.html - HL7 International: http://hl7.org/fhir/security.html

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