West Virginia Code 16-3D-4 – Report of cases, admissions, registration of patients
(a) Every physician practicing in this state, every public health officer in the state, and every chief medical officer having charge of any hospital or clinic or other similar public or private institution in the state shall report electronically or in writing to the local health department in the patient's county of residence all information required by the Commissioner for every person having tuberculosis who comes under his or her observation or care. Such report shall be made within twenty-four hours after diagnosis.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 16-3D-4
- Bureau: means the Bureau for Public Health in the Department of Health and Human Resources. See West Virginia Code 16-3D-2
- Commissioner: means the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health, who is the state health officer. See West Virginia Code 16-3D-2
- Department: means the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources: Provided, That beginning January 1, 2024, as used in this chapter, "department" and "Department of Health and Human Resources" means the Department of Health. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
- in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by printing, engraving, writing, or otherwise. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Local health department: means the staff of the local board of health. See West Virginia Code 16-3D-2
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Tuberculosis: means a communicable disease caused by the bacteria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is demonstrated by clinical, bacteriological, radiographic or epidemiological evidence. See West Virginia Code 16-3D-2
(b) Every local health department shall forward all reports of tuberculosis cases filed pursuant to this section to the Bureau tuberculosis program within twenty-four hours of receipt of such reports.
(c) The chief medical officer of each tuberculosis institution, hospital or other health care facility shall report the admission of any patient with tuberculosis to the Bureau together with any other information the Commissioner may require. He or she shall make a similar report of the discharge or death of any patient. From such reports and other sources, the Bureau shall prepare and keep current a register of persons in this state with tuberculosis. The name of a person so registered shall not be made public nor shall the register be accessible to anyone except by order of the Bureau, the patient, or by the order of the judge of a court of record.