CHAPTER 35
SENATE BILL No. 211
An Act concerning disease reporting; amending K.S.A. 65-118
and repealing
the existing section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 65-118 is hereby amended to read as
follows: 65-
118. (a) Whenever any person licensed to practice the healing arts
or
engaged in a postgraduate training program approved by the state
board
of healing arts, licensed dentist, physician's assistant whose name
has been
entered on the register of physicians' assistants by the state
board of
healing arts, licensed professional nurse, licensed practical
nurse, admin-
istrator of a hospital, licensed adult care home
administrator, licensed
social worker, teacher or school administrator knows or has
information
indicating that a person is suffering from or has died from
an a reportable
infectious or contagious disease as defined in rules and
regulations, such
knowledge or information shall be reported immediately to the
county or
joint board of health or the local health officer, together with
the name
and address of the person who has or is suspected of having the
infectious
or contagious disease, or the name and former address of the
deceased
individual who had or was suspected of having such a disease. In
the case
of a licensed hospital or adult care home, the administrator may
designate
an individual to receive and make such reports. The secretary of
health
and environment shall, through rules and regulations, make
provision for
the consolidation of reports required to be made under this
section when
the person required to make the report is working in a licensed
hospital
or adult care home. Laboratories certified under the federal
clinical lab-
oratories improvement act pursuant to 42 code of federal
regulations, 493
shall report the results of microbiologic cultures,
examinations, immuno-
logic essays for the presence of antigens and antibodies and any
other
laboratory tests which are indicative of the presence of a
reportable in-
fectious or contagious disease to the department of health and
environ-
ment. The director of the division of health may use information
from
death certificates for disease investigation purposes.
(b) Any person who is an individual member of a class of
persons
designated under subsection (a) of this section and who reports the
in-
formation required to be reported under such subsection in good
faith
and without malice to a county or joint board of health
or, a local health
officer or the department of health and environment shall
have immunity
from any liability, civil or criminal, that might otherwise be
incurred or
imposed in an action resulting from such report. Any such person
shall
have the same immunity with respect to participation in any
judicial pro-
ceeding resulting from such report.
(c) Information required to be reported under subsection (a)
of this
section shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed or made
public,
upon subpoena or otherwise, beyond the requirements of subsection
(a)
of this section or subsection (a) of K.S.A. 65-119, except such
information
may be disclosed: (1) If no person can be identified in the
information to
be disclosed and the disclosure is for statistical purposes;
(2) if all persons who are identifiable in the information to
be dis-
closed consent in writing to its disclosure;
(3) if the disclosure is necessary, and only to the extent
necessary, to
protect the public health;
(4) if a medical emergency exists and the disclosure is to
medical
personnel qualified to treat infectious or contagious diseases. Any
infor-
mation disclosed pursuant to this paragraph shall be disclosed only
to the
extent necessary to protect the health or life of a named party;
or
(5) if the information to be disclosed is required in a court
proceeding
involving child abuse and the information is disclosed in
camera.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 65-118 is hereby repealed.
Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from
and after its
publication in the Kansas register.
Approved March 28, 1998
Published in the Kansas Registers April 9, 1998
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