Statute 65-118: Reporting to local health authority as to infectious or
contagious diseases; persons reporting; immunity from liability;
confidentiality of information; disclosure.
(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, licensed professional nurse, licensed
practical nurse
administrator of a hospital, licensed adult care home-administrator, licensed
physician assistant, licensed social worker,
teacher or school
administrator knows or has information indicating that a person is
suffering from or
has died from 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 laboratories improvement
act pursuant to 42 code of federal regulations, 493 shall report the results of
microbiologic cultures, examinations, immunologic essays for the presence of
antigens and antibodies and any other laboratory tests which are indicative of
the presence of a reportable infectious or contagious disease to the department
of health and environment.
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
information required to be reported under such subsection in good faith
and without malice to a county or joint board of health, 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 proceeding
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
disclosed 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
information 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.
History: L. 1901, ch. 285, § 2; R.S. 1923, 65-118; L. 1953,
ch. 283, § 1; L. 1976, ch. 262, § 1; L. 1979, ch. 189, § 1;
L. 1998, ch. 35, § 1;
L. 2000, ch. 162, § 17; Feb. 1, 2001.