Alabama Administrative Code › Title 420 - ALABAMA STATE BOARD OF HEALTH › Chapter 420-4-1 - NOTIFIABLE DISEASES › Section 420-4-1-.09 - Notification Of Law Enforcement, National Security Or Federal Public Health Authorities

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 9, June 28, 2024
In circumstances potentially or actually affecting national
				security, the State Health Officer or his or her designee is authorized to
				notify appropriate local, county, state, or federal law enforcement
				authorities, other agencies charged to protect national security, or federal
				public health agencies under the following conditions.
(1) As it relates to a patient or human
			 laboratory subject of the Department, when the State Health Officer, by and
			 through employees of the Department, learns by way of laboratory analysis,
			 investigation, or otherwise of the presence of, or absence of, any notifiable
			 disease relating to a patient of or laboratory subject of the Department,
			 notification may be made to such authorities without the consent of the patient
			 or laboratory subject of the presence of, or absence of, any notifiable disease
			 when the State Health Officer determines in writing that such notification
			 concerns a matter as potentially or actually affecting national
			 security.
(2) Such notification as
			 provided for in this rule may only be made to the above specified law
			 enforcement, national security, or federal public health authorities and in
			 such a manner as to best protect the confidentiality of the patient or
			 laboratory subject when balanced against the interests of aiding the protection
			 of national security.
(3) As it
			 relates to non-human subjects, when the State Health Officer, by and through
			 the State Laboratory or environmental or epidemiological staff, shall be called
			 upon by such law enforcement or national security authorities to make or
			 perform tests, examinations of, or investigations of objects, environs,
			 animals, or other animate or inanimate non-human subjects for the presence or
			 absence of conditions or modalities causative of or suspected of being
			 causative of any notifiable disease, reports of such tests, examinations, or
			 investigations shall be made only to such law enforcement, national security,
			 or national public health authorities, and directly to affected persons in a
			 manner consistent with the protection of the confidentiality of directly
			 affected persons when balanced against the interests of aiding the protection
			 of national security.
(4) This rule
			 relates only to matters potentially or actually affecting national security and
			 is not intended to be invoked or effective under any other condition. The
			 invocation or noninvocation of this rule is not intended to affect the normal
			 course of business as such relates to patient or subject confidentiality of
			 laboratory, environmental, or epidemiological analysis, test, examination, or
			 investigation.
Rule
				  420-4-1-.12 was renumbered to .09
				  as pre certification filed November 25, 2014; effective December 30, 2014.
				  Previous rule
				  420-4-1-.11 entitled "Spousal
				  Notification Of A Known HIV-Infected Patient" was repealed as per certification
				  filed November 25, 2014; effective December 30,
				  2014.
Author:
John R. Wible, General Counsel
Statutory Authority:
Code of Ala. 1975,
				  §§22-2-2(6); 22-11A-38.