161.409. Confidentiality of all reports and records maintained by commission--violation, penalty--release of information, no liability, exception.
Confidentiality of all reports and records maintained bycommission--violation, penalty--release of information, no liability,exception.
161.409. 1. The commission shall ensure theconfidentiality of all reports and records made pursuant tosections 161.400 to 161.411 and maintained by the commission.
2. Only designated staff of the commission shall haveaccess to the reports and records in which a hearing loss wassubstantiated.
3. The commission shall not reveal the identity of a persondiagnosed with a hearing loss, a reporting professional clinicalaudiologist, otolaryngologist, hearing aid fitter and dealer,hospital or clinic.
4. The data accumulated through the reporting systemestablished in section 161.407 may be made public by thecommission to advance research, education and services regardingpersons with hearing loss. However, the data shall be organizedin such a manner that no individual may be identified.
5. Any person who knowingly violates the provisions of thissection, or who permits or encourages the unauthorizeddissemination of information contained in the reports and recordsof the commission made pursuant to sections 161.400 to 161.411,shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
6. No individual or organization providing information tothe commission in accordance with sections 161.400 to 161.411shall be held liable in a civil or criminal action for divulgingconfidential information unless such individual or organizationacted in bad faith or with malicious purpose.
(L. 1994 H.B. 1044 merged with S.B. 568)