Texas Administrative Code › Title 25 - HEALTH SERVICES › Part 1 - DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES › Chapter 97 - COMMUNICABLE DISEASES › Subchapter A - CONTROL OF COMMUNICABLE DISEASES › Section 97.2 - Who Shall Report

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) A
				  physician, dentist, veterinarian, chiropractor, advanced practice nurse,
				  physician assistant, or person permitted by law to attend a pregnant woman
				  during gestation or at the delivery of an infant shall report, as required by
				  these sections, each patient (person or animal) he or she shall examine and who
				  has or is suspected of having any notifiable condition, and shall report any
				  outbreak, exotic disease, or unusual group expression of illness of any kind
				  whether or not the disease is known to be communicable or reportable. An
				  employee from the clinic or office staff may be designated to serve as the
				  reporting officer. A physician, dentist, veterinarian, advanced practice nurse,
				  physician assistant, or chiropractor who can assure that a designated or
				  appointed person from the clinic or office is regularly reporting every
				  occurrence of these diseases or health conditions in their clinic or office
				  does not have to submit a duplicate report.
(b) The chief administrative officer of a
				  hospital shall appoint one reporting officer who shall be responsible for
				  reporting each patient who is medically attended at the facility and who has or
				  is suspected of having any notifiable condition. Hospital laboratories may
				  report through the reporting officer or independently in accordance with the
				  hospital's policies and procedures.
(c) Except as provided in subsection (b) of
				  this section, any person who is in charge of a clinical laboratory, blood bank,
				  mobile unit, or other facility in which a laboratory examination of any
				  specimen derived from a human body yields microscopic, bacteriologic,
				  virologic, parasitologic, serologic, or other evidence of a notifiable
				  condition, shall report as required by this section.
(d) School authorities, including a
				  superintendent, principal, teacher, school health official, or counselor of a
				  public or private school and the administrator or health official of a public
				  or private institution of higher learning should report as required by these
				  sections those students attending school who are suspected of having a
				  notifiable condition. School administrators who are not medical directors
				  meeting the criteria described in §
										97.132
				  of this title (relating to Who Shall Report Sexually Transmitted Diseases) are
				  exempt from reporting sexually transmitted diseases.
(e) Any person having knowledge that a
				  person(s) or animal(s) is suspected of having a notifiable condition should
				  notify the local health authority or the department and provide all information
				  known to them concerning the illness and physical condition of such person(s)
				  or animal(s).
(f) Sexually
				  transmitted diseases including HIV and AIDS shall be reported in accordance
				  with Subchapter F of this chapter (relating to Sexually Transmitted Diseases
				  Including Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and Human Immunodeficiency
				  Virus (HIV)).
(g) Failure to report
				  a notifiable condition is a Class B misdemeanor under the Texas Health and
				  Safety Code, §
										81.049.
(h) The Health Insurance Portability and
				  Accountability Act (HIPAA) allows reporting without authorization for public
				  health purposes and where required by law. Title 45 Code of Federal Regulations
				  §164.512(a) and (b).