26-6-27 - Information regarding communicable or reportable disease confidential -- Exceptions.
26-6-27. Information regarding communicable or reportable disease confidential --Exceptions.
(1) Information collected pursuant to this chapter in the possession of the department orlocal health departments relating to an individual who has or is suspected of having a diseasedesignated by the department as a communicable or reportable disease under this chapter shall beheld by the department and local health departments as strictly confidential. The department andlocal health departments may not release or make public that information upon subpoena, searchwarrant, discovery proceedings, or otherwise, except as provided by this section.
(2) The information described in Subsection (1) may be released by the department orlocal health departments only in accordance with the requirements of this chapter and as follows:
(a) specific medical or epidemiological information may be released with the writtenconsent of the individual identified in that information or, if that individual is deceased, hisnext-of-kin;
(b) specific medical or epidemiological information may be released to medicalpersonnel or peace officers in a medical emergency, as determined by the department inaccordance with guidelines it has established, only to the extent necessary to protect the health orlife of the individual identified in the information, or of the attending medical personnel or lawenforcement or public safety officers;
(c) specific medical or epidemiological information may be released to authorizedpersonnel within the department, local health departments, official health agencies in other states,the United States Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),or when necessary to continue patient services or to undertake public health efforts to interruptthe transmission of disease;
(d) if the individual identified in the information is under the age of 18, the informationmay be released to the Division of Child and Family Services within the Department of HumanServices in accordance with Section 62A-4a-403. If that information is required in a courtproceeding involving child abuse or sexual abuse under Title 76, Chapter 5, the information shallbe disclosed in camera and sealed by the court upon conclusion of the proceedings;
(e) specific medical or epidemiological information may be released to authorizedpersonnel in the department or in local health departments, and to the courts, to carry out theprovisions of this title, and rules adopted by the department in accordance with this title;
(f) specific medical or epidemiological information may be released to blood banks,organ and tissue banks, and similar institutions for the purpose of identifying individuals withcommunicable diseases. The department may, by rule, designate the diseases about whichinformation may be disclosed under this subsection, and may choose to release the name of aninfected individual to those organizations without disclosing the specific disease;
(g) specific medical or epidemiological information may be released in such a way thatno individual is identifiable;
(h) specific medical or epidemiological information may be released to a "health careprovider" as defined in Section 78B-3-403, health care personnel, and public health personnelwho have a legitimate need to have access to the information in order to assist the patient, or toprotect the health of others closely associated with the patient. This subsection does not create aduty to warn third parties, but is intended only to aid health care providers in their treatment andcontainment of infectious disease; and
(i) specific medical or epidemiological information regarding a health care provider, as
defined in Section 78B-3-403, may be released to the department, the appropriate local healthdepartment, and the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing within the Departmentof Commerce, if the identified health care provider is endangering the safety or life of anyindividual by his continued practice of health care.
Amended by Chapter 3, 2008 General Session