New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 10 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH › Chapter II - Administrative Rules and Regulations › Subchapter G - Aids Testing, Communicable Diseases and Poisoning › Part 63 - Hiv/aids Testing, Reporting And Confidentiality Of Hiv-related Information › Section 63.1 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) HIV-infection
				  means infection with the human immunodeficiency viruses that are the cause of
				  AIDS or as the term may be defined from time to time by the Centers for Disease
				  Control and Prevention of the United States Public Health Service.
(b) AIDS means acquired immune deficiency
				  syndrome, as may be defined from time to time by the Centers for Disease
				  Control and Prevention of the United States Public Health Service.
(c) HIV-related illness means any clinical
				  illness that may result from or be associated with HIV infection.
(d) HIV-related test or HIV-related testing
				  means any laboratory test, tests or series of tests approved for the diagnosis
				  of HIV.
(e) Rapid HIV test or
				  testing means any HIV-related test or tests approved for detecting antibodies
				  or antigens to HIV, that produce results in 60 minutes or less, and encompasses
				  a supplemental test to confirm the HIV-related test if the screening test is
				  reactive. The 60 minutes does not include the time needed for confirmation or
				  delivery of results to the patient.
(f) Capacity to consent means an individual's
				  ability, determined without regard to the individual's age, to understand and
				  appreciate the nature and consequences of a proposed health care service,
				  treatment, or procedure, or of a proposed disclosure of confidential
				  HIV-related information, and to make an informed decision concerning the
				  service, treatment, procedure or disclosure.
(g) Protected individual means a person who
				  is the subject of an HIV-related test or who has been diagnosed as having HIV
				  infection, AIDS or HIV-related illness.
(h) Confidential HIV-related information
				  means any information, in the possession of a person who provides health or
				  social services or who obtains the information pursuant to a release of
				  confidential HIV-related information, concerning whether an individual has been
				  the subject of an HIV-related test, or has HIV infection, HIV-related illness
				  or AIDS, or information which identifies or reasonably could identify an
				  individual as having one or more of such conditions, including information
				  pertaining to such individual's contacts.
(i) Health or social service means any care,
				  treatment, clinical laboratory test, counseling or educational service for
				  adults or children, and acute, chronic, custodial, residential, outpatient,
				  home or other health care; public assistance, including disability payments
				  available pursuant to the Social Security Act; employment-related services,
				  housing services, foster care, shelter, protective services, day care or
				  preventive services; services for the mentally disabled; probation services;
				  parole services; correctional services; detention and rehabilitative services;
				  and the activities of the Health Care Worker HIV/HBV Advisory Panel (see Public
				  Health Law article 27-DD), all as defined in section 2780 (8)  of the Public
				  Health Law.
(j) Health facility
				  means a hospital as defined in section 2801  of the Public Health Law, blood bank,
				  organ procurement organization, tissue bank, clinical laboratory, or facility
				  providing care or treatment to persons with a mental disability.
(k) Health care provider or provider means
				  any physician, nurse, licensed or certified provider of diagnostic medical
				  services, including a nurse practitioner, a midwife and physician assistant,
				  provider of services for the mentally disabled or other person involved in
				  providing medical, nursing, counseling, or other health care or mental health
				  service, including those associated with, or under contract to, a health
				  maintenance organization or medical services plan. Diagnostic providers include
				  physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and midwives who are
				  authorized to order diagnostic tests and to make clinical diagnoses.
(l) Primary care means the medical fields of
				  family medicine, general pediatrics, primary care, internal medicine, primary
				  care obstetrics, or primary care gynecology, without regard to board
				  certification or setting where primary care is provided.
(m) Contact means an identified spouse or
				  sexual contact of the protected individual or a person identified as having
				  shared hypodermic needles or syringes with protected individual, or a person
				  whom the protected individual may have exposed to HIV under circumstances that
				  present a risk of transmission of HIV, as noted in section
				  63.8(m) 
				  of this Part.
(n) Contact tracing
				  shall mean the process of notifying known contacts of protected individuals as
				  reported by the physician or as disclosed by the protected individuals
				  themselves, and of seeking the cooperation of protected individuals to name
				  contacts, as described in section
				  63.8  of this
				  Part. For the purposes of this Part, the terms contact notification, partner
				  notification, partner assistance and partner counseling and referral services
				  shall be synonymous with contact tracing. In all cases of contact tracing
				  authorized in this Part, the name or other identifying information regarding
				  the protected person shall not be disclosed to contacts and the name of
				  contacts shall not be disclosed to other contacts.
(o) Person includes any natural person,
				  partnership, association, joint venture, trust, public or private corporation
				  or State or local government agency.
(p) Release of confidential HIV-related
				  information means a written authorization for disclosure of confidential
				  HIV-related information which is signed by the protected individual, or if the
				  protected individual lacks capacity to consent, a person authorized pursuant to
				  law to consent to health care for the individual. Such release shall be dated
				  and shall specify to whom disclosure is authorized, the purpose for such
				  disclosure and the time period during which the release is to be effective. A
				  general authorization for the release of medical or other information shall not
				  be construed as a release of confidential HIV-related information, unless such
				  authorization specifically indicates its dual purpose as a general
				  authorization and an authorization for the release of confidential HIV-related
				  information and complies with this definition.
(q) Insurance institution means any
				  corporation, association, partnership, reciprocal exchange, interinsurer,
				  fraternal benefits society, agent, broker or other entity in the business of
				  providing health, life and disability coverage including, but not limited to,
				  any health maintenance organization, medical service plan, or hospital plan
				  which:
(1) is engaged in the business of
				  insurance;
(2) provides health
				  services coverage plans; or
(3)
				  provides benefits under, administers, or provides services for, an employee
				  welfare benefit as defined in
				  29
				  USC 1002(1).