Iowa Code 141A.5 – Partner notification program — HIV
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1. The department shall maintain a partner notification program for persons known to have tested positive for HIV infection.
Terms Used In Iowa Code 141A.5
- Care provider: means an individual who is trained and authorized by federal or state law to provide health care services or services of any kind in the course of the individual's official duties, for compensation or in a voluntary capacity, who is a health care provider, emergency medical care provider as defined in section 147A. See Iowa Code 141A.1
- Department: means the Iowa department of public health. See Iowa Code 141A.1
- Exposure: means a specific eye, mouth, other mucous membrane, nonintact skin, or parenteral contact with blood or other potentially infectious bodily fluids. See Iowa Code 141A.1
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
- Good faith: means objectively reasonable and not in violation of clearly established statutory rights or other rights of a person which a reasonable person would know or should have known. See Iowa Code 141A.1
- HIV: means the human immunodeficiency virus identified as the causative agent of AIDS. See Iowa Code 141A.1
- Person: means a natural person. See Iowa Code 154A.1
- Significant exposure: means a situation in which there is a risk of contracting HIV through exposure to a person's infectious bodily fluids in a manner capable of transmitting HIV as determined by the centers for disease control and prevention of the United States department of health and human services and adopted by rule of the department. See Iowa Code 141A.1
- State: means a state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See Iowa Code 152E.3
2. In administering the program, the department shall provide for the following:
a. A person who tests positive for HIV infection shall receive post-test counseling, during which time the person shall be encouraged to refer for counseling and HIV testing any person with whom the person has had sexual relations or has shared drug injecting equipment.
b. The physician or other health care provider attending the person may provide to the department any relevant information provided by the person regarding any person with whom the tested person has had sexual relations or has shared drug injecting equipment.
c. (1) Devise a procedure, as a part of the partner notification program, to provide for the notification of an identifiable third party who is a sexual partner of or who shares drug injecting equipment with a person who has tested positive for HIV, by the department or a physician or physician assistant, when all of the following situations exist:
(a) A physician or physician assistant for the infected person is of the good-faith opinion that the nature of the continuing contact poses an imminent danger of HIV transmission to the third party.
(b) When the physician or physician assistant believes in good faith that the infected person, despite strong encouragement, has not and will not warn the third party and will not participate in the voluntary partner notification program.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection 3, the department or a physician or physician assistant may reveal the identity of a person who has tested positive for HIV infection pursuant to this subsection only to the extent necessary to protect a third party from the direct threat of transmission. This subsection shall not be interpreted to create a duty to warn third parties of the danger of exposure to HIV through contact with a person who tests positive for HIV infection.
(3) The department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to implement this paragraph “c”. The rules shall provide a detailed procedure by which the department or a physician or physician assistant may directly notify an endangered third party.
3. In making contact the department shall not disclose the identity of the person who provided the names of the persons to be contacted and shall protect the confidentiality of persons contacted.
4. The department may delegate its partner notification duties under this section to local health authorities unless the local authority refuses or neglects to conduct the partner notification program in a manner deemed to be effective by the department.
5. In addition to the provisions for partner notification provided under this section and notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, a county medical examiner or deputy medical examiner performing official duties pursuant to sections 331.801 through 331.805 or the state medical examiner or deputy medical examiner performing official duties pursuant to chapter 691, who determines through an investigation that a deceased person was infected with HIV, may notify directly, or request that the department notify, the immediate family of the deceased or any person known to have had a significant exposure from the deceased of the finding.