Header:
Texas Annotated Statutes
HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
TITLE 2. HEALTH
SUBTITLE D. PREVENTION, CONTROL, AND REPORTS OF DISEASES
CHAPTER 81. COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
SUBCHAPTER C. REPORTS AND REPORTABLE DISEASES
Date:
08/31/2009
Document:
§ 81.046. Confidentiality
(a) Reports, records, and information received from any source, including from a federal agency or from another state, furnished to a public health district, a health authority, a local health department, or the department that relate to cases or suspected cases of diseases or health conditions are confidential and may be used only for the purposes of this chapter.
(b) Reports, records, and information relating to cases or suspected cases of diseases or health conditions are not public information under Chapter 552, Government Code, and may not be released or made public on subpoena or otherwise except as provided by Subsections (c), (d), and (f).
(c) Medical or epidemiological information may be released:
(1) for statistical purposes if released in a manner that prevents the identification of any person;
(2) with the consent of each person identified in the information;
(3) to medical personnel treating the individual, appropriate state agencies in this state or another state, a health authority or local health department in this state or another state, or federal, county, or district courts to comply with this chapter and related rules relating to the control and treatment of communicable diseases and health conditions or under another state or federal law that expressly authorizes the disclosure of this information;
(4) to appropriate federal agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States Public Health Service, but the information must be limited to the name, address, sex, race, and occupation of the patient, the date of disease onset, the probable source of infection, and other requested information relating to the case or suspected case of a communicable disease or health condition; or
(5) to medical personnel to the extent necessary in a medical emergency to protect the health or life of the person identified in the information.
(d) In a case of sexually transmitted disease involving a minor under 13 years of age, information may not be released, except that the child's name, age, and address and the name of the disease may be released to appropriate agents as required by Chapter 261, Family Code. If that information is required in a court proceeding involving child abuse, the information shall be disclosed in camera.
(e) A state or public health district officer or employee, local health department officer or employee, or health authority may not be examined in a civil, criminal, special, or other proceeding as to the existence or contents of pertinent records of, or reports or information about, a person examined or treated for a reportable disease by the public health district, local health department, or health authority without that person's consent.
(f) Reports, records, and information relating to cases or suspected cases of diseases or health conditions may be released to the extent necessary during a public health disaster to law enforcement personnel solely for the purpose of protecting the health or life of the person identified in the report, record, or information. Only the minimum necessary information may be released under this subsection, as determined by the health authority, the local health department, or the department.
(g) A judge of a county or district court may issue a protective order or take other action to limit disclosure of medical or epidemiological information obtained under this section before that information is entered into evidence or otherwise disclosed in a court proceeding.
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