1. Any information, including reports and records, obtained, submitted, and maintained pursuant to this chapter is strictly confidential medical information. The information shall not be released, shared with an agency or institution, or made public upon subpoena, search warrant, discovery proceedings, or by any other means except as provided in this chapter. A person shall not be compelled to disclose the identity of any person upon whom an HIV-related test is performed, or the results of the test in a manner which permits identification of the subject of the test, except to persons entitled to that information under this chapter.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 141A.9

  • 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
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • 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
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Health care provider: means a person licensed to practice medicine and surgery, osteopathic medicine and surgery, chiropractic, podiatry, nursing, dentistry, or optometry, or as a physician assistant, dental hygienist, or acupuncturist. See Iowa Code 141A.1
  • Health facility: means a hospital, health care facility, clinic, blood bank, blood center, sperm bank, laboratory organ transplant center and procurement agency, or other health care institution. See Iowa Code 141A.1
  • HIV: means the human immunodeficiency virus identified as the causative agent of AIDS. See Iowa Code 141A.1
  • HIV-related condition: means any condition resulting from human immunodeficiency virus infection. See Iowa Code 141A.1
  • HIV-related test: means a diagnostic test conducted by a laboratory approved pursuant to the federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments for determining the presence of HIV or antibodies to HIV. See Iowa Code 141A.1
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Legal guardian: means a person appointed by a court pursuant to chapter 633 or an attorney in fact as defined in section 144B. See Iowa Code 141A.1
  • Person: means a natural person. See Iowa Code 154A.1
  • Release of test results: means a written authorization for disclosure of HIV-related test results which is signed and dated, and which specifies to whom disclosure is authorized and the time period during which the release is to be effective. 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
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
 2. HIV-related test results shall be made available for release to the following individuals or under the following circumstances:

 a. To the subject of the test or the subject’s legal guardian subject to the provisions of section 141A.7, subsection 3, when applicable.
 b. To any person who secures a written release of test results executed by the subject of the test or the subject’s legal guardian.
 c. To an authorized agent or employee of a health facility or health care provider, if the health facility or health care provider ordered or participated in the testing or is otherwise authorized to obtain the test results, the agent or employee provides patient care or handles or processes samples, and the agent or employee has a medical need to know such information.
 d. To a health care provider providing care to the subject of the test when knowledge of the test results is necessary to provide care or treatment.
 e. To the department in accordance with reporting requirements for an HIV-related condition.
 f. To a health facility or health care provider which procures, processes, distributes, or uses a human body part from a deceased person with respect to medical information regarding that person, or semen provided prior to July 1, 1988, for the purpose of artificial insemination.
 g. To a person allowed access to an HIV-related test result by a court order which is issued in compliance with the following provisions:

 (1) A court has found that the person seeking the test results has demonstrated a compelling need for the test results which need cannot be accommodated by other means. In assessing compelling need, the court shall weigh the need for disclosure against the privacy interest of the test subject and the public interest which may be disserved by disclosure due to its deterrent effect on future testing or due to its effect in leading to discrimination.
 (2) Pleadings pertaining to disclosure of test results shall substitute a pseudonym for the true name of the subject of the test. The disclosure to the parties of the subject’s true name shall be communicated confidentially in documents not filed with the court.
 (3) Before granting an order, the court shall provide the person whose test results are in question with notice and a reasonable opportunity to participate in the proceedings if the person is not already a party.
 (4) Court proceedings as to disclosure of test results shall be conducted in camera unless the subject of the test agrees to a hearing in open court or unless the court determines that a public hearing is necessary to the public interest and the proper administration of justice.
 (5) Upon the issuance of an order to disclose test results, the court shall impose appropriate safeguards against unauthorized disclosure, which shall specify the persons who may gain access to the information, the purposes for which the information shall be used, and appropriate prohibitions on future disclosure.
 h. To an employer, if the test is authorized to be required under any other provision of law.
 i. Pursuant to sections 915.42 and 915.43, to a convicted or alleged sexual assault offender; the physician or other health care provider who orders the test of a convicted or alleged offender; the victim; the parent, guardian, or custodian of the victim if the victim is a minor; the physician of the victim if requested by the victim; the victim counselor or person requested by the victim to provide counseling regarding the HIV-related test and results; the victim’s spouse; persons with whom the victim has engaged in vaginal, anal, or oral intercourse subsequent to the sexual assault; members of the victim’s family within the third degree of consanguinity; and the county attorney who filed the petition for HIV-related testing under section 915.42. For the purposes of this paragraph, “victim” means victim as defined in section 915.40.
 j. To employees of state correctional institutions subject to the jurisdiction of the department of corrections, employees of secure facilities for juveniles subject to the department of human services, and employees of city and county jails, if the employees have direct supervision over inmates of those facilities or institutions in the exercise of the duties prescribed pursuant to section 80.9B.
 3. Release may be made of medical or epidemiological information for research or statistical purposes in a manner such that no individual person can be identified.
 4. Release may be made of medical or epidemiological information to the extent necessary to enforce the provisions of this chapter and related rules concerning the treatment, control, and investigation of HIV infection by public health officials.
 5. Release may be made of medical or epidemiological information to medical personnel to the extent necessary to protect the health or life of the named party.
 6. Release may be made of test results concerning a patient pursuant to procedures established under section 141A.5, subsection 2, paragraph “c”.
 7. Medical information secured pursuant to subsection 1 may be shared between employees of the department who shall use the information collected only for the purposes of carrying out their official duties in preventing the spread of the disease or the spread of other reportable diseases as defined in section 139A.2.
 8. Medical information secured pursuant to subsection 1 may be shared with other state or federal agencies, with employees or agents of the department, or with local units of government that have a need for the information in the performance of their duties related to HIV prevention, disease surveillance, or care of persons with HIV, only as necessary to administer the program for which the information is collected or to administer a program within the other agency. Confidential information transferred to other persons or entities under this subsection shall continue to maintain its confidential status and shall not be rereleased by the receiving person or entity.
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