191.658. HIV infection status disclosure by department of health and senior services to exposed health workers or law enforcement officers, when, violation, penalty.
HIV infection status disclosure by department of health and seniorservices to exposed health workers or law enforcement officers, when,violation, penalty.
191.658. 1. As used in this section, the following terms shall mean:
(1) "Disclose", to disclose, release, transfer, disseminate or otherwisecommunicate all or any part of any record orally, in writing or by electronicmeans to any person or entity;
(2) "Health care practitioner", any licensed physician, nursepractitioner or physician's assistant;
(3) "HIV", the human immunodeficiency virus that causes acquiredimmunodeficiency syndrome;
(4) "HIV infection", the pathological state of the human body inresponse to HIV;
(5) "Medically significant exposure", a puncture through or lacerationof the skin, or contact of mucous membrane or nonintact skin with blood,tissue, wound exudate or other body fluids, including semen, vaginalsecretions, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, pleural fluid, peritonealfluid, pericardial fluid, amniotic fluid or any body fluid containing visibleblood, or contact of intact skin with any such body fluids when the durationof contact is prolonged or involves an extensive area of skin;
(6) "Person", private individuals, private or public bodies politic, andcorporations, partnerships, trusts, and unincorporated associations and theirofficers, directors, agents or employees;
(7) "Source individual", the person who is the source of the blood orother body fluids to which medically significant exposure occurred.
2. A health care practitioner providing medical treatment for a healthcare worker or law enforcement officer because of a medically significantexposure to blood or other body fluids that occurred in the course of theworker's or officer's employment may request from the department of health andsenior services information regarding the HIV infection status of the sourceindividual. The department of health and senior services may disclose to thehealth care practitioner the HIV infection status of the source individual ifsuch information is on file with the department.
3. The health care practitioner shall disclose the HIV infection statusof the source individual to the exposed health care worker or law enforcementofficer if, in the professional judgment of the health care practitioner, suchdisclosure is necessary to assure adherence to a prescribed treatment regimen.
4. No person to whom information about an individual's HIV infection hasbeen disclosed pursuant to this section shall further disclose such results.
5. Any person who knowingly releases information in violation of thissection is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
(L. 1999 H.B. 271 § 1)